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Sixty-Sixth Congress. Second Session 



House Document No. 811 



WILLIAM J. BROWNING 

( Late a Representative from New Jersey ) 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 

DELIVERED IN THE 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE SENATE 

OF THE UNITED STATES 

SIXTY-SIXTH CONGRESS 
SECOND SESSION 



Proceedings in the House 
May i6, 1920 



Proceedings in the Senate 
March 3, 192 1 



PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF 
THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON PRINTING 




.^^^abii o 



WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1922 






to 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Page 

Proceedings in the House 5 

Prayer by Rev. Henry N. Couden 5, 8 

Memorial addresses by — 

Mr. Isaac Bacharach, of New Jersey 11 

Mr. James R. Mann, of Illinois 14 

Mr. Frederick R. Lehlbach, of New Jersey 16 

Mr. Lemuel P. Padgett, of Tennessee 19 

Mr. Elijah C. Hutchinson, of New Jersey 23 

Mr. William B. Oliver, of Alabama 31 

Mr. Fred A. Britten, of Illinois 34 

Funeral services at First Baptist Church of 

Camden, N. J 36 

. Mr. William W. Venable, of Mississippi 47 

Mr. Amos H. Radcliffe, of New Jersey 50 

Mr. John J. Eagan, of New Jersey .53 

Mr. John A. Peters, of Maine .55 

Mr. Edward H. Wason, of New Hampshire 58 

Mr. Ernest R. Ackerman, of New Jersey fil 

Mr. Frederick C. Hicks, of New York 64 

Mr. George P. Darrow, of Pennsylvania 67 

Mr. William B. McKinley, of Illinois 68 

Proceedings in the Senate 60 

Memorial addresses by — 

Mr. Joseph S. Frelinghuysen, of New Jersey . - 73 

Mr. Walter E. Edge, of New Jersey 76 



[3] 



DEATH OF HON. WILLIAM J. BROWNING 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE 



Wednesday, March 2i, 1920. 
The House met at 12 o'clock noon. 
The Chaplain, Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D., offered the 
following prayer: 

Our Father, who art in Heaven, we stand before Thee 
with bowed heads and sorrowing hearts, under the flag 
at half-mast. Suddenly, without warning, a Member of 
this House, a hard worker, a willing worker, a patriotic 
worker, passed from earth to the Great Reyond. The ten- 
ure of life is uncertain. We pray that his friends and 
loved ones may be strengthened and upheld by Thy loving 
arm in this hour of grief, that we may all be prepared, 
so that when the call comes we may answer, " Here am I, 
Lord; do as Thou wilt, for I am Thy child, erring, yet lov- 
ing, grateful." Re with us now and always, and bring us 
finally to Thee, Our Father in Heaven, through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Mr. Hutchinson. Mr. Speaker, it is my sad duty to 
announce to this House the death of the Hon. William J. 
Rrowning, a Member of the House from the State of 
New Jersey, who passed away suddenly this morning. 

I shall ask the House at a later date to set aside a day 
when proper tribute may be paid to the life, character, 
and public service of the distinguished deceased. At this 
time I ofl'er the following resolution. 

The Speaker. The Clerk will report the resolution. 

[5] 



Memorial Addresses: Representatin'e Browning 



The Clerk read as follows : 

House resolution 503 

Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of 
the death of Hon. William J. Browning, a Representative from 
the State of New Jersey. 

Resolved, That a committee of 18 Members of the House, with 
such Members of the Senate as may be joined, be appointed to 
attend the funeral. 

Resolved, That the Sergeant at Arms of the House be authorized 
and directed to take such steps as may be necessary for carrying 
out the provisions of these resolutions, and that the necessary 
expenses in connection therewith be paid out of the contingent 
fund of the House. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased. 

The Speaker. The question is on agreeing to the reso- 
lution. 

The resolution was agreed to unanimously. 

The Speaker. The Chair appoints the following com- 
mittee, which the Clerk will report. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Hamill, Mr. Scully, Mr. Eagan, Mr. Bach- 
arach, Mr. Lehlbach, Mr. Ramsey, Mr. Ackerman, Mr. RadclifTe, 
Mr. McGlennon, Mr. Minahan of New Jersey, Mr. Butler, Mr. Brit- 
ten, Mr. Kelley of Michigan, Mr. Mudd, Mr. Padgett, Mr. Riordan, 
and Mr. Oliver. 

The Speaker. The Clerk will report the concluding 
resolution. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect this House do now 
adjourn. 

The Speaker. The question is on agreeing to the reso- 
lution. 

The resolution was agreed to unanimously. 

[6] 



Proceedings in the House 



Thereupon (at 12 o'clock and 10 minutes p. m.) the 
House adjourned until to-morrow, Thursday, March 25, 
1920, at 12 o'clock noon. 



Thursday, March 25. 1920. 
A message from the Senate, by Mr. Dudley, its enroll- 
ing clerk, announced that the Senate had passed the fol- 
lowing resolutions: 

Senate resolution 341 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow the 
announcement of the death of Hon. William J. Browning, late a 
Representative from the State of New Jersey. 

Resolved, That a committee of six Senators be appointed by the 
presiding ofTicer to join the committee appointed by the House of 
Representatives to take order for the superintending of the funeral 
of Mr. Browning at Camden, N. J. 

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate a copy of these reso- 
lutions to the House of Representatives. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of 
the deceased the Senate do now adjourn. 

And that in compliance with the second resolution the 
President pro tempore had appointed Mr. Frelinghuysen, 
Mr. Edge, Mr. Fernald, Mr. France, and Mr. Gay as the 
committee on the part of the Senate. 



Thursday, April 22, 1920. 
Mr. Hutchinson. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that the House set aside Sunday, May 16, 1920, for ad- 
dresses on the life, character, and public services of the 
late Representative Browning. 



[7] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 

The Speaker. The gentleman from New Jersey asks 
unanimous consent that Sunday, May 16, be set apart for 
memorial exercises for his late colleague, Mr. Browning. 
Is there objection? 

There was no objection. 

Mr. Clark of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent to address the House for one minute. 

The Speaker. The gentleman from Missouri asks unani- 
mous consent to address the House for one minute. Is 
there objection? 

There was no objtection. 

Mr. Clark of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, the time for these 
memorial services on Sundays ought to be fixed either at 
10 o'clock in the morning or 2 o'clock in the afternoon, 
because when we meet at 12 o'clock it makes everybody 
late for dinner. If they began at 10 o'clock, we would be 
through before noon. I have nothing to present now on 
this subject, although I am going to introduce a rule, and 
I want to notify the House of that fact. 



Sunday, May 16, 1920. 

The House was called to order by the Speaker pro tem- 
pore [Mr. Hutchinson]. 

The Chaplain, Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D., offered the 
following prayer : 

Our Father, who art in Heaven, that God, which ever 
lives and loves, one God, one law, one element, one far 
off divine event to which the whole creation moves. 

If I ask Him to receive me, will He say me nay? 
Not till earth and not till heaven pass away. 

So with renewed faith, and hope, and confidence, we 
approach Thee in the sacred attitude of prayer, confi- 

[8] 



Proceedings in the House 



dently trusting in the overruling of Thy providence to the 
good of all Thy children. We thank Thee for the indis- 
soluble ties which bind us to Thee, which time nor space 
can sever. 

We meet to fulfill the desires of our heart. Two men 
of affairs, who wrought well, died well in the faithful 
discharge of their duty; in their work challenged the 
admiration of their fellows who called them to serve 
the people on the floor of this House; who shirked no 
duty, have passed on in the harness to that life in one 
of God's many mansions, where under more favorable 
circumstances they will develop the larger and more 
perfect life. But we would write on the pages of history 
their life, character, and public service for those who 
shall come after us. May Thy loving arms be about those 
who knew and loved them and inspire them with hope 
and confidence, that though they may not return they 
will surely go to them in a realm where love reigns 
supreme. 

We know not what the future hath of marvel or surprise, 
Assured alone that life and death His mercy underlies. 

Thus we hope, aspire, and pray. In the spirit of the 
Master. Amen. 

Mr. Bacharach. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous con- 
sent that the reading of the Journal be deferred until 
to-morrow. 

The Speaker pro tempore. The gentleman from New 
Jersey asks unanimous consent that the reading of the 
Journal be postponed until to-morrow. Is there objec- 
tion? [After a pause.] The Chair hears none. The 
Clerk will report the special order. 



[9] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 

The Clerk read as follows : 

On motion of Mr. Hutchinson, by unanimous consent, 
Ordered, That Sunday, May 16, 1920, be set apart for paying 
tribute to the memory of Hon. William J. Browning, late a Mem- 
ber of this House from the State of New Jersey. 

Mr. Bacharach. Mr. Speaker, I offer the following reso- 
lution and ask for its adoption. 

The Speaker pro tempore. The Clerk will report the 
resolution. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

Resolved, That the business of the House be now suspended, that 
an opportunity may be given for tributes to the memory of Hon. 
William J. Browning, late a Member of the House of Representa- 
tives from the State of New Jersey. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of 
the deceased, and in recognition of his eminent abilities as a dis- 
tinguished public servant, the House, at the conclusion of these 
memorial proceedings, shall stand adjourned. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk be instructed to send a copy of these 
resolutions to the family of the deceased. 

The question was taken and the resolution was unani- 
mously agreed to. 

Mr. Bacharach. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that Members who are unable to be present to-day have an 
opportunity to extend their remarks in the Record on the 
life, character, and public services of our deceased col- 
league, William J. Browning. 

The Speaker pro tempore. The gentleman from New 
Jersey asks unanimous consent that Members may extend 
their remarks in the Record on the life, character, and 
public services of Hon. William J. Browning. Is there 
objection? [After a pause.] The Chair hears none. 



[10] 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



Address of Mr. Bacharach, of New Jersey 

Ml". Speaker: Within the short period of five years in 
which I have been a Member of the House of Representa- 
tives we have on three occasions been summoned in sol- 
emn assembly to pay public tribute to the life, character, 
and public service of Representatives in the National Con- 
gress from the great State of New Jersey. 

To-day we gather to publicly attest our love and friend- 
ship for the dean of the Republican delegation from our 
State, the late William J. Browning, of the city of Camden, 
whom a merciful God suddenly called to His heavenly 
home free from the agonies usually attendant at the hour 
of death. 

At the time of his death Mr. Browning was serving his 
fifth consecutive term as a member of the House of Repre- 
sentatives from the first district of New Jersey, and was 
exceeded in point of service in the House by only one 
Member of the present State delegation. 

Mr. Browning was for many years a faithful servant of 
the public, particularly of the people of his home city; 
first as a member of the board of education, later as a 
member of the city council, and then as their postmaster. 

His more public career began in 1895, when he was 
elected Chief Clerk of the National House of Representa- 
tives, in which position he faithfully and efficiently served 
for a period of 16 years, relinquishing his duties in that 
office upon his election by the voters of the first district of 
New Jersey to fill the vacancy in the House of Representa- 
tives caused by the death of the late Hon. Harry Louden- 
slager. 

He was continuously reelected each term since then, 
and his popularity in his district was most forcefully 

[11] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 

demonsti'ated in the elections of 1912, when he was the 
only Republican elected to the National Congress from the 
State of New Jersey. 

Upon coming to Congress he was assigned to the Com- 
mittee on Naval Affairs, upon which committee he con- 
tinued to serve until, at the time of his death, he was the 
ranking majority member. 

By reason of his long service on that committee he be- 
came one of the best informed Members of the House on 
naval matters, and to him is due much credit in the shap- 
ing of our naval policy during the past few years. I am 
sure that his death has been a distinct loss to this important 
committee of the House and to the countrj' in general. 

In politics Mr. Browning was a staunch Republican. He 
was one of the " wheel horses " of the party in New Jersey, 
and he represented one of the strongest, if not the strong- 
est, Republican district in the State. 

No matter to what office he was chosen during his public 
career it can be said of Mr. Browning that he at all times 
endeavored to give to that office the very best service that 
he knew how to render. He was an incessantly hard 
worker, and to his own detriment he gave little time to 
recreation and the care of his health. 

Refusing to follow the advice of his physicians to let up 
in his work and give himself much needed rest to build 
up his strength which had been brought to a low ebb by 
ill health during the past winter, he insisted upon attend- 
ing to his official duties and it may truly be said of him 
that he died a martyr to his country. 

Planning to return home and recuperate his health fol- 
lowing the passage of the naval bill, which was passed by 
the House on the evening preceding his death, he waited 
too long and finally the last thread of life which bound 
him to earth snapped, and he was summoned to his Master. 

His life was full of years of good deeds accomplished. 
He was of a gentle and kindly nature and possessed of a 
[12] 



Address of Mr. Bacharach, of New Jersey 

host of friends, commanding at all times the attention and 
respect of his associates. The universal love and respect 
which the people of his home city had for him was most 
eloquently demonstrated in the vast numbers who at- 
tended his funeral and by the many magnificent floral 
tributes that surrounded him in death. 

His funeral was generally observed throughout the city 
by the cessation of activities as a mark of respect to the 
man who so faithfully and so earnestly served it. 

Mr. Speaker, in the death of Mr. Browning we have all 
suffered a real loss. I shall personally never forget his 
many kindnesses to me when I first came to Congress and 
was new to the ways of this great body, and I deem it a 
high honor and a great privilege to here publicly express 
my gratitude and in my humble way endeavor to pay 
some lasting tribute to the memory of one of New Jersey's 
distinguished citizens who leaves behind him a record of 
achievement and devotion to public duty which we, his 
colleagues, may well emulate, and of which the great State 
of New Jersey, which I, in part, have the honor to repre- 
sent in this House, may well and justly be proud. 

All who knew of the private life of Mr. Browning may 
well feel sui-e that he kept his " house in order " and that 
he was fully prepared to answer the sudden summons of 
his Master to give an account of his stewardship, and I am 
sure that the answer made to him by his Lord was, " Well 
done, thou good and faithful servant; enter thou into ever- 
lasting glory." 



[13] 



Address of Mr. Mann, of Illinois 

Mr. Speaker : Mr. Browning was the Chief Clerk of the 
House when I first came to Congress in 1897. That is 
a very important office in the conduct of the House. I 
had occasion at various times to come in contact with 
him as chairman of committees of the House. When the 
House Office Building was opened I was the chairman 
of the committee in charge of the distribution of rooms, 
and the question of the furnishing of the rooms and vari- 
ous things of that sort came under the jurisdiction of 
Mr. Browning as Chief Clerk of the House. I found him 
then, as always, vei-y knowing in matters that came under 
his jurisdiction. He was never extravagant, never in- 
clined to extravagance in public affairs, yet he was very 
anxious at that time, as always, to accommodate the 
Members of the House as far as it could properly be 
done. 

When he first came to Congress to receive a committee 
assignment I was the minority leader in the Sixty-second 
Congress and had the assignment of committees on the 
Republican side of the House. Strictly speaking, New 
Jersey at that time was not entitled to a place on the 
Committee on Naval Affairs owing to the proximity of 
members of that committee from neighboring States, but 
I had such confidence in Mr. Browning's fairness and 
intelligence that I readily placed him on the committee 
which he desired to serve upon. Certainly no one who 
knew what he did upon that committee ever had reason 
to regret that assignment. Always able, always intelli- 
gent, always fair, never desirous of extravagance, but 
always desiring to have the Navy maintained in a high 
position, he did as good work on that committee as any 

[14] 



Address of Mr. Mann, of Illinois 



Member of the House ever did. It happened that I was 
in the chair in the consideration of the last naval appro- 
priation bill. 

Before that I had urged Mr. Browning to go away and 
take a rest, not to give such active attention to the work 
of the House, but he persisted and insisted upon remain- 
ing at his post of duty, and I watched him very closely 
from the chair during the consideration of the naval bill 
and was very much afraid that he might break down be- 
fore we had reached the completion of that bill. He 
stayed here helping, working, fulfilling his desires as to 
the naval bill and its consideration, and then the next 
morning, as though he had completed the work for which 
he had been assigned in this world, quickly and quietly 
passed away, carrying with him and his memory the affec- 
tionate regard and whole-souled respect of every Member 
of this House and of everj' one in the country who knew 
him and knew his work. He is gone. I only pray that the 
people he left behind him in close association may always 
remember he never failed in his duty, he never failed in 
his love and friendship for his fellow kind. He was a 
noble man. 



[15] 



Address of Mr. Lehlbach, of New Jersey 

Mr. Speaker: I approach this occasion in full apprecia- 
tion of the loss sustained by Congress and by the State of 
New Jersey through the death of Representative William 
J. Browning. But I also make confession of my feeling of 
personal grief and sorrow at the departure of one to whom 
I was drawn close by bonds of affection. 

In the hearts and minds of the younger Members of the 
House William J. Browning occupied the place of a wise, 
kindly, and sympathetic father. His long experience in 
the House of Representatives, as an official and as a Mem- 
ber, gave him such a wealth of information regarding the 
practical workings of the machinery of the House as to 
make him an undoubted authority in this field. This 
knowledge it was his delight to place at the disposal of 
his younger and less experienced colleagues. I never 
knew a man so willing and generous in devoting time, 
trouble, and effort in helping his fellows, even in matters 
of trivial detail. I shall always cherish the memory of my 
first visit to the Capitol after my election as a Member of 
Congress. I had never met Mr. Browning before that oc- 
casion. He met me, gave me the friendliest of welcomes, 
and then devoted hours of his time to instructing me in the 
various necessary steps to get properly launched as a Mem- 
ber. He introduced me to every official, initiated me into 
the mysteries of the document room, folding room, station- 
ery department, Congressional Record Printing Office, and 
in my rights and privileges as a Member generally. 

From the messages and telephone calls he received, I 
appreciated that he had much more important business 
demanding his attention, but he insisted that nothing must 
interfere with what he termed his duty to one of his boys. 

[16] 



Address of Mr. Lehlbach, of New Jersey 

Throughout our service together it was his delight to im- 
part information, to counsel and advise, and to render 
assistance. I have come to him with difficult problems 
and he would lay aside his own work and accompany me 
to the departments to help solve them. From observation 
I know that this spirit of helpfulness was extended to all 
who chose to avail themselves of it. 

William J. Browning was in his every essence a Jersey- 
man. He was born, lived his allotted span of three score 
years and ten and was laid to rest in the city of Camden. 
He was from early manhood identified with the public 
affairs of his city and State, and was a loyal and uncom- 
promising worker in the organization of the party of his 
choice. His character and temperament especially fitted 
him for effective work in this sphere in which unques- 
tioned loyalty was deemed the paramount virtue. He was 
straightforward, simple, pious, and mentally honest. He 
accepted basic creeds in religion, morals, and politics, and 
throughout his life undeviatingly adhered to them, in- 
different to fitful breezes and transitory vagaries. Thus, 
from the depth of his convictions and in the best sense of 
the terms he was "regular" and "organization." 

He was happy in his committee assignment in the 
House. He thoroughly knew the American Navy and 
loved it. The great yards in his home town and across the 
Delaware River, where so many of the craft of the Navy 
were constructed, had from boyhood rendered him famil- 
iar with men-of-war. He had a widespread acquaintance 
with the personnel of the service and enjoyed not only 
their confidence and respect, but held their affection. 

A substantial portion of his work in Congress was the 
preparation and passage of the annual naval bill. To this 
work he gave of his storehouse of information and of his 
capacity for painstaking attention to detail. He was in 
precarious health throughout this session of Congress and 

47042—22 2 [17] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 

was urged by his intimates, both in and out of Congress, to 
withdraw for the time from active work and submit to the 
curative influences of a complete rest. He refused to listen 
to such advice. His sense of duty and his love for his work 
impelled him to remain at his task, although he was fully 
cognizant that by so doing he was imperiling his life. He 
was in his seat every moment of the time the naval bill 
was under consideration in the House. When it passed he 
was happy in the consciousness of having well done that 
which was intrusted to him to do and peacefully and pain- 
lessly entered upon his reward. 

Life is a mystery. The purpose of the Creator in setting 
us here for a brief space is not given to us to fathom. Hap- 
piness is illusory and those who seek it most persistently 
seem least to possess it. 1 believe the best use to which we 
can put our lives is to seek those tasks within the scope of 
our powers and opportunities, the performance of which 
will yield the greatest amount of service to our fellows. 
I believe the greatest source of happiness is the accom- 
plishment of the tasks we have set for ourselves. In the 
light of these concepts the enjoyment of life and happi- 
ness was in fullest measure accorded to our beloved col- 
league, William J. Browning. 



[18] 



Address of Mr. Padgett, of Tennessee. 

Mr. Speaker— 

Friend after friend departs, 

Who has not lost a friend? 
There is no union here of hearts 

That has not here an end. 

Such, in brief, is the history of life in all of its vocations, 
in all locations. Wherever our life may be, whatever our 
environments, that is the sum and the substance. We 
meet here as strangers, we part as friends. Our parting is 
often in different ways. Some remain but a little while, 
others quite a long time. Some retire; others die. We 
form our attachments here, and that is one of the sweet, 
refreshing compensations of our service — the friendships 
which we form and our associations and our work in this 
body. While we have our political differences, while we 
have our different lines of work, some engaged along this 
line, and others along a different one, yet there is no mid- 
dle aisle of partition in our friendships and no dividing 
line in our affections. We form our friendships here, we 
seem to knit our hearts together, and we sometimes feel 
that they are so closely knit together that our lives become 
almost twin lives in their affection and their devotion. 

But, after all, there is no permanent union here. There 
comes a separation and that separation always brings a 
tinge of sadness and reflections of sorrow. The thought 
comes to us also of our unfinished purposes. We are un- 
able fully and completely to carry out our plans and 
our purposes. So it is all through life. We have a pur- 
pose or a plan, but it is not completed. We come here 
with our purposes and our plans and often they go not as 
we desire them, because we may not have the time or the 

[19] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 



opportunity. In all of life it is full of unfinished pur- 
poses and incomplete plans, and that leads us to ask, 
Is death the end? If it is, life is a travesty; yea, more, it 
is a tragedy. But if, as we believe, and as we feel that we 
know, death is not the end, living is a privilege, and life 
may be a benediction. 

Living is full of opportunity and life opens a great vista 
of opportunities and great visions of what may be the 
grandeur and the glory of living, boundless opportunities, 
and limitless time and limitless space for development 
and for growth and for association. Ah, we have our 
friendships here, but in the hereafter the friendships be- 
gotten here will ripen into the full fruition of love over 
there; the richness, the fullness, and the glory of living in 
the conception that life here is simply a dip into the cycle 
of eternity. The little babe here, the young man in the 
full vigor of manhood, pass away, the one with threescore 
years and ten passes away, and, after all, it is only a short 
time. As the psalmist has said, we spend our years as a 
tale that is told. 

But, Mr. Speaker, with all of our years here there is to 
us a sense of a lack of satisfaction. The very incomplete- 
ness of our purposes, the very lack of opportunity to fully 
mature and develop our plans, carries with it the lack of 
satisfaction. And upon an occasion like this we ask our- 
selves — Where is the remedy, and will there be a full sat- 
isfaction? It is to the loved ones, it is to the bereaved 
ones, upon an occasion like this, that we can say, as we 
believe, we shall be satisfied when we awake in His like- 
ness. In the fullness and in the sweetness, in the glory 
and the grandeur of that living into which the grave is 
only the open portal, we shall be satisfied, and there is the 
comfort and that is the consolation, and that is the inspi- 
ration of our living and our toiling here, our friendships, 
our nobility of purpose and character here, that we may 

[20] 



Address of Mr. Padgett, of Tennessee 

carry with us that nobility and that character and that 
uplift of purpose into that satisfaction hereafter. 

And here bound down by the limitations of flesh, here 
limited by the habiliment of the senses, with very narrow 
opportunities and very limited horizon of action, we can 
but contemplate the pleasure — I speak it advisedly — of 
the thought that the spirit that leaves us here becomes a 
liberated spirit, passing into the Great Beyond, where the 
habiliments of the flesh, where the boundaries of the five 
senses, shall not limit the opportunities and the horizon 
of our action and our conception and our living. 

Mr. Speaker, when the committee attended the funeral 
services at his home, in the city of Camden, it was my 
privilege then, at the request of the family, to speak some 
words, wherein I then spoke of our intimate association 
and referred to his magnificent years of service, his high 
ideals, his lofty purposes, and the great work that he 
had accomplished in more than 20 years of service in this 
great capital of this great country. I do not feel it in- 
cumbent here to attempt to repeat or to rehearse those 
things. Others to-day have spoken of them with affec- 
tion. I know that during the 20 years in which we served 
together here, 10 of them when he was a Member of the 
House and 10 of them when he was Chief Clerk of the 
House, our hearts were knit together. I speak it — I loved 
him because he was a man worthy and deserving of the 
love and the affection of his associates and his friends. 

Early in the morning, quietly, peacefully, he heard the 
Master's call, and his liberated spirit was in the presence 
of the Almighty. 

Peacefully, restfully, we laid him away in his home city, 
full of honor, full of years, full of respect and confidence 
of those with whom all these years he had associated. 

As I passed along the way I read " When the trail of a 
tear is softened with smiles." And I thought it was a 

[21] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 

beautiful sentiment. " When the trail of a tear is sof- 
tened with smiles." Beautiful it was, full of sentiment 
and full of inspiration, and yet I thought it might still be a 
little higher plane if we said " When the trail of a tear 
is wiped away with love." As I knew Mr. Browning, I 
believe I can say truly that oftentimes he softened the 
trail of a tear with a smile; yea, more, he wiped away 
the trail of a tear with love. 



[22] 



Address of Mr. Hutchinson, of New Jersey 

Mr. Speaker : We have gathered here to-day in accord- 
ance with the time-honored custom of this House to pay 
tribute to the memory of one of its distinguished Members, 
Hon. William J. Browning. 

Spring, the most beautiful season of all the year, is a 
revelation of the matchless power and infinite wisdom of 
Almighty God. Winter has removed the plants and 
flowers with which we have become acquainted, and there 
is sent forward a new and fresh covering of the earth for 
man's comfort and enjoyment. The old order changeth 
for the new. 

It is only natural then to expect changes in nature and 
the things material, but in our weakness we are unable to 
comprehend the divine plan of God as it relates to human 
life, and when called upon to lay away a loved one or a 
dear friend it is then we are brought face to face with the 
inevitable, and with tear-dimmed eye and broken heart 
we flee to the Rock of Ages for strength to bear our new 
burden. 

Such was the experience of the membership of this 
House on the morning of March 24, 1920, when news of the 
sudden death of our colleague, William J. Browning, 
was flashed through the halls of this magnificent building. 

Mr. Browning had passed through the winter of life and 
went forth into the spring of immortality to render an 
account of his stewardship and receive the reward of a 
faithful servant. 

Within a very few days he would have completed the 
allotted span of life, for he was born in Camden, N. J., on 
April 11, 1850, and the j^ears intervening were filled with 
useful service to his city. State, and Nation. 

[23] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 

At the age of 17 years he entered the mercantile field, 
and although more or less actively engaged in that calling 
to the day of his death, he found time and counted it a 
privilege to take a keen interest in religious and civic 
affairs. 

Busy men are always sought when important duties are 
to be performed, and Mr. Browning never shirked from a 
responsibility where the welfare of the community was 
concerned. He loved his home city with a devotion found 
only in strong men, and willingly sacrificed time from his 
private business and gave of his rich experience as fre- 
quently as the call was made. 

He served the city of Camden for four years as a mem- 
ber of the board of education, and four years as a member 
of the city council, and was postmaster for five years. 

Larger fields were opening to him, and in December of 
1895 he was called to Washington as Chief Clerk of the 
House of Representatives, in which capacity he served 
until April, 1911, when he was further honored by being 
elected as a Member of Congress. 

As Chief Clerk he was thrown in contact with the lead- 
ing men of our Nation, and the experience gained by such 
association, together with the exceptional ability displayed 
in handling the many details of his important office, emi- 
nently qualified him for the higher and more responsible 
duties of a Representative. 

Mr. Browning immediately on assuming his new posi- 
tion became one of the valuable Members of this House. 
His judgment was sound, his reasoning comprehensive, 
and his advice frequently sought and always freely given. 
In matters of legislation he was conscientious, painstaking, 
and exceedingly fair. Sham was unknown to him, for he 
would not deceive nor could he tolerate deceit in others. 
He was a man of high ideals whose very- presence con- 
vinced one of his sincerity of purpose. 

[24] 



Address of Mr. Hutchinson, of New Jersey 

He was one of those public servants who regarded a 
public trust with an ej-e single to the general welfare, and 
when it came to a decision on a public question he knew 
neither friend nor foe, but fearlessly, without regard to 
comment or criticism, did his duty as he saw it. 

Of his many activities in Congress, the one that most 
appealed to liim was the work of the Committee on Naval 
Affairs. He had long been a member of that committee 
and was a consistent advocate of the policy of the best 
Navy for the best Nation, and no responsibility in connec- 
tion with the work of that committee was too great for 
him to assume. He had made a study and comparison 
of the ships and personnel of the navies of the world, and 
devoted everj' ounce of energy to making our Navy supe- 
rior to all in personnel, ships, and gunnery. The work of 
that great committee was clearly demonstrated and justi- 
fied by the brilliant record of our Navy during the World 
War. 

In private life the same characteristics that made him a 
valued public servant were brought into play, and during 
his busy career Mr. Browning found time and cherished 
the privilege to take an active interest in church and 
Sunday-school work. For approximately 50 years he was 
a devout member of the First Baptist Church of Camden, 
N. J., and his sincere devotion to his church and God has 
been an inspiration to those who came in contact with him. 

The people of a community can receive and deserve no 
higher encomium for their intelligence, their integrity, 
steadfastness, and patriotism than by their continued and 
hearty support of such a man as Mr. Browning, who for 
many years was afforded an opportunity for such public 
service. He earned and received and appreciated it, and 
the people reaped their full reward by the dedication of a 
rare life solely to their welfare. 

The close of such a long, useful, and honored life could 
not arouse a poignant sorrov/, except as one would sin- 
[25] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 

cerely mourn that such a departure is the divine dispensa- 
tion, and that such a friend has finally left us. 

My personal acquaintance with Mr. Browning covers a 
period of 20 years, and I miss him, and feel his loss keenly. 

In a conversation with him on the night of March 23, 
immediately following the passage of the naval appropri- 
ation bill, he bid me good-bye and said: " My work is fin- 
ished; in the morning I am going home and take a long 
rest." Little did I think at that time the journey would be 
made to his heavenly home and the rest eternal, but the 
call came, and he was found ready and willing to respond. 

Mr. Speaker, some two or three years ago Mr. Browning 
delivered a brief address in Camden, N. J., entitled " How 
dear to my heart are the scenes of my childhood." It was 
so typical of the character of the man, in that it showed the 
profound interest he took in the growth and development 
of his home city, that I feel it should be made a part of 
these services, and ask unanimous consent that it be 
printed in the Record: 

" How dear to my heart are the scenes of my childhood." 

Camden was my birthplace; Camden was the scene of my child- 
hood; and in Camden I hope to breathe my last. 

None but those who have shared the joys and the sorrows inci- 
dent to the growth of their place of nativity can appreciate fully 
its advancement nor enjoy with the same degree of pride its 
progress and material development. 

To me there is hardly a street, or an old building, or an old 
resident that is not a reminder of the old Camden as I knew it 
when a boy. And now there are the newer things, the modern 
evidence of Camden's present life, the two— the old and the 
new — interwoven, linking the past with the present. 

Doubtless to some here present personal reminiscences by a 
native and one of Camden's " oldest inhabitants " will be lacking 
in interest, but I am to be pardoned for this recital, for the topic 
assigned to me renders my mood reminiscent. No " dim recollec- 
tion " but vivid memory presents to my view the scenes and 
incidents which endear Camden to me. 

[26] 



Address of Mr. Hutchinson, of New Jersey 

Camden I The name suggests at once the rights of freemen, for 
it was Charles Pratt, first Earl of Camden, that great English 
statesman and wise jurist, who recognized and advocated consti- 
tutional liberty for our colonists. 

No wonder that the name is held in honor and esteem, as is 
evidenced by its bestowal upon twenty-two cities and towns 
throughout the United States. Of this number, our own Camden 
is the best known — to us belongs the chief distinction of prior 
right and well-earned prominence. 

One of my most valued possessions is a small volume, issued in 
1909, entitled " Historical Sketch of Camden, New Jersey," by our 
townsman, Howard M. Cooper. This comprehensive little history 
of early Camden is instructive and entertaining, and I would sug- 
gest to those of my hearers who have not already read it to do so. 

I was born in Camden in the middle of the nineteenth century, 
at 214 Market Street (now the C. C. Chew Dry Goods Store), then 
embraced in the old North Ward, afterwards and now the First 
Ward. I still reside and vote in the same ward. Our town then 
had less than 10,000 people; now we have 104,000, an average 
growth in population of over 15,000 per decade. 

In the census period from 1870 to 1880 the number of our people 
doubled. At that time our commercial and industrial foundation 
was laid, and our future success as a manufacturing city assured. 
Then it was that the old Camden of my boyhood began to develop 
into the Camden of to-day. The former things began to pass 
away. 

As I was only in my second year, I do not remember, of course, 
when the first street paving was laid in Camden, in 1852, though 
I do remember those cobblestones for many, many years after. 
In the same year of the street-paving improvement the city began 
to be lighted by gas. So we were moving along. 

One of my earliest recollections is that of the New Jersey State 
Agricultural Society Fair, which was held in the year 1855, in 
Diamond Cottage Grove and on the ground now bounded by 
Cooper, Market, Sixth, and Seventh Streets. On the same site, for 
many years afterwards, the old game of " town ball " was played, 
before the days of the modern game of baseball. 

In my childhood days Diamond Cottage Grove was a favorite 
place for holding picnics, and many parties came from Phila- 
delphia to make merry in those picturesque old grounds. There 
was also a public pleasure garden in those days at the foot of 

[27] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 

Cooper Street; another on Market Street, above the West Jersey 
Hotel; and still another on the south side of Federal Street, near 
Front Street. 

I remember distinctly the burning of the ferryboat New Jersey 
in 1858. For long years afterwards many disputes regarding 
dates of happenings were settled to the satisfaction of all dis- 
putants by some one recalling " it happened before," or " it hap- 
pened after," the burning of the Neiv Jersey. 

In 1860 our population had grown to 14,358, and of this number 
2,500 marched away to the war to fight for a united country. 
Well do I remember with what boyish pride I saw young, hand- 
some Shreve Ackley (whose family and my own were intimate 
friends) march down Cooper Street at the head of Col. Einstein's 
regiment as its adjutant. The picture comes back to me to-day — 
and it has during all of the intervening years — as one of the most 
inspiring lessons of my life. Mr. Ackley is at the present time a 
resident of Philadelphia. 

In those early days there were very few houses north of Penn 
Street to the Delaware River. North from the vicinity of Main 
Street was farm land, and I have wandered through the corn 
fields " many a time." Between Penn and Main Streets, I remem- 
ber, had been farm land; I had great fun there cutting asparagus 
on Saturdays when we had holiday from school. A portion of 
this tract was afterwards fenced in and used by the first Camden 
baseball players. 

Some of our best citizens resided on Market Street, between 
Front and Second; notably, Jame B. Dayton, Peter L. Voorhees, 
and Abraham Browning. These old houses are still standing, but 
are now owned by the Victor Talking Machine Co. and must soon 
disappear to make room for proposed extensive improvements. 

It is not likely that anyone present remembers the old ferry- 
boats Merchant and Mechanic, that ran from the foot of our 
Market Street, and the Mary and Dido, that ran from the foot of 
Federal Street. It meant great effort and persistent hard work 
for those small boats to cross the river in wintertime, for there 
were no gigantic ice boats to break the way. In going to and 
from school during the years I attended the Friends Central High 
School in Philadelphia, I considered it great sport to jump off 
the boat onto the ice and walk ashore. 

The wonderful improvements that have been made in trans- 
portation facilities can well be appreciated when we compare the 

[28] 



Address of Mr. Hutchinson, of New Jersey 

ferry boats just spoken of with the splendid steel boats Bridgefon 
and Salem, just placed on the line. 

The first school that I attended was a private one, taught by- 
Miss Caddie Glover, in the second and top story of the Perse- 
verance Hose House, on Third Street, below Market. Later I went 
to another private school, in rooms over the grocery store of Burr 
Moore, on the southwest corner of Third and Market Streets, 
taught by Mrs. Catharine Cadwell and Miss Kate Cadwell, her 
daughter. Next, I went to the old academy, at Sixth and Market 
Streets, on the site where the George Genge School now stands; 
the academy, with a branch at Second and Plum Streets, was the 
only public school in the city at that time. After my father's 
death, which occurred in 1861, my mother sent me to the Friends 
Central High School in Philadelphia, where I continued for four 
years. 

The development of our schools from the old academy days to 
our present magnificent system, with its kindergarten, primary, 
grammar, high, and manual-training departments, seems almost 
like a wonderful dream that has come true. I am glad, indeed, 
to have shared, even in a very small way, as a member of the 
board of education, in putting a few cogs in the wheels that have 
revolved to such purpose. In my early days Camden had not 
engaged much in manufactures. Jesse W. and John F. Starr were 
the proprietors of one of the leading establishments, now the 
Camden Iron Foundry. There were three sawmills on the Dela- 
ware River — McKeen & Bingham, the Garrison, and the Stockhara. 
There were also the Esterbrook Steel Pen Co., the Collings Car- 
riage Co., the Charles S. CafTrey Carriage Co., Potts & Kletts Chem- 
ical Works, Browning Bros. Log Works, Merrys Paper Mills, and 
one or two establishments on Cooper River. 

At the present time we find employed in our 365 manufacturing 
concerns between twenty and twenty-five thousand people, in 
iron mills, pottery plants, woolen mills, making soups, candy, 
chemicals, oilcloth, embroidery, laces, shoes, corks, talking ma- 
chines, and a thousand and one other articles, from the little steel 
pen to the proudest battleships and merchandise-bearing vessels 
in the world. 

Our wealth, such as it is, does not consist merely in tangible 
property, or stocks and bonds. It consists in homes — real homes, 
modest homes, owned and lived in by our own artisans, me- 
chanics, and business men, where the rights and immunities of 

[29] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 

conscious, dignified, and responsible proprietorship is in strong 
contrast to those great "Alps of civilization " congesting the metro- 
politan cities, wherein home life and its sweetness is absent and 
the sense of individuality lost. Thank God for the " two-story " 
homes of Camden 1 

The future of Camden is unguessed. We shall be to Philadel- 
phia what Jersey City is to New York. Our natural advantages as 
to water front are magnificent, and the possibilities for Camden's 
future business developments are almost without limitation. 

The War Department has just granted an extension of our pier- 
head lines in the Delaware River, and two concerns are ready to 
build wharves as far into the river as permissible. A govern- 
mental survey of the Delaware in front of Camden is just about 
completed; we shall soon have deeper water, so that vessels of 
deep draft may land at our wharves. 

I can not express with what interest, pleasure, and anticipation 
I am doing my share of the work toward securing for Camden all 
of the advantages that are sure to come when our water fronts on 
the Delaware River and on Cooper River are available for " big 
business." Sites unsurpassed for manufacturing purposes are 
located on both the Delaware and the Cooper, and I believe that 
we shall see all of the available space thus utilized in the near 
future. This all spells an increase of population and greater 
prosperity. 

Camden to-day is a city of which we must feel proud. We have 
churches of every denomination; we have well paved and beauti- 
fully lighted streets; we have the best drinking water in the 
world; we have a splendid school system; we have fine public 
library accommodation; we have excellent fire and police depart- 
ments; and, best of all, we have a God-fearing, public-spirited 
population. On such foundation stones we are bound to build 
high, and if I am anything of a prophet you will see our city one 
of the leading cities of the State of New Jersey before any of us 
are many years older. 



[30] 



Address of Mr. Oli\"er, of Alabama 

Mr. Speaker: The Hon. Wu^liam J. Browning passed 
away on the 24th daj- of March last, at the age of 69, after 
an ilhistrious, successful, and notable career. In his 
death not only the State and district that honored and 
trusted him, not only this Congress that loved and re- 
spected him, but the Nation, as well, sustained a great loss. 

My association with him was close and intimate, and 
I personally felt his loss. It has been well said by an- 
other — commenting on the friendships in Congress — that 
some of the sweetest fruits found in the experience of 
political life are those which hang over the party wall. 

To the listeners in the gallery who witness the daily 
proceedings on the floor, with its sharp clashes and col- 
lisions in the heat of debate, to the public at large, reached 
by the echoes of the strife only, it may be difficult to 
realize that there are found here not alone cordial re- 
lations, but the very closest ties of warmest personal 
friendship between those sitting on the different sides of 
this dividing aisle. 

But the fact is well known to those familiar with con- 
ditions here, and no one ever gathered to himself here 
more devoted friends than did Mr. Browning. 

He had a golden heart, a generous mind, a knightly 
soul that inspired friendship, trust, and confidence in all 
whose good fortune it was to know him. Correct in his 
habits, devoted to his family, true to his friends, loyal to 
his convictions, he was an upright, conscientious, indus- 
trious, high-minded public servant. 

He was a Christian gentleman in the best sense of that 
word. Devoted to his church, yet neither bigoted nor 

[31] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 

narrow. Generous and charitable wherever he was, the 
sunlight of good cheer and the wholesomeness of a real 
friendship could be found — it was his noble nature to love 
his friends, but above all to love his country. 

The world was better for his having lived in it, and 
the influence of his private life, his goodly deeds, his 
public service will never die. Though he has left us to 
join the great majority, we can yet claim him, for — 

There is 
One great society alone on eartti, 
The noble living and the noble dead. 

How little is here, Mr. Speaker, after all, of this true 
friend and good man that is consigned to the tomb. The 
shroud and the vault conceal the body from our vision, 
but the memory of his good deeds and great actions lives 
on, and will remain fresh and green forever, and will bear 
fruit elsewhere. 



The day has come, not gone; 
The sun has risen, not set; 
His life is now beyond 
The reach of death or change — 
Not ended, but begun. 



Mr. Speaker, Mr. Browning fell asleep in the barber's 
shop of the Capitol; and shortly thereafter the colored 
barbers, who were devoted to him, met and adopted a 
resolution dictated by Prince Robinson, one of the bar- 
bers, who always waited on him. I ask unanimous con- 
sent to read and insert the resolution in the Record. 

The Speaker pro tempore. Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Alabama? 

There was no objection. 

Mr. Oliver. Like a shadow thrown softly and sweetly 
from a passing cloud, death fell upon Mr. Browning just 
as he was rising from the chair after his morning shave, 

[32] 



Address of Mr. Oliver, of Alabama 



and he gently and quietly passed away in the arms of 
old Prince, his friend and colored barber, who conies 
from my State and who has a great heart and noble 
impulses, and the fondest appreciation of Mr. Browning. 
It was this unlettered colored man, loving him with a 
devotion unsurpassed, who dictated this plain, simple, yet 
sincere tribute to our friend who has gone, given just 
as Prince wrote it: 

resolution 

Washington, D. C, April 21, 1920. 

It behooves me to say ttiat tlie Hon. William J. Browning 
passed away so suddenly wtiile under my care I could hardly 
realize it for several days. I was devoted to Mr. Browning and 
he was to me, and I always tried to be at my post on time to wait 
on him, so as not to excite him, for I knew his condition. 

Mr. Browning was a great man and good to all, and all of us 
mourn his loss: Therefore, be it 

Resolved, As it pleased Almighty God to take from our midst a 
statesman and friend, I, Prince Robinson, and brother barbers, 
offer this resolution in respect to Mr. Browning; and, be it further 

Resolved, That a copy of tliis resolution be sent to the heart- 
stricken family. 



[33] 



Address of Mr. Britten, of Illinois 

Mr. Speaker : I regard it as a privilege to pay tribute to 
the life, character, and memory of our late colleague, Hon. 
William J. Browning, whose untimely death has taken 
from the House of Representatives one of its most valu- 
able and painstaking Members. 

As a member of the Committee on Naval Affairs, where 
I served with Mr. Browning during the greater portion of 
the past eight years, it was my good fortune to be guided 
very largely in my opinion on matters of naval affairs by 
his wisdom, honesty of purpose, excellent vision, and fair 
leadership for a military service which he dearly loved. 

His attention to duty, his close application to public 
affairs, even after he was informed of his shattered health, 
was a matter of comment by his colleagues on the com- 
mittee and of anxiety to his friends. He was not willing 
to take his needed rest, and was on the floor of the House 
watching every angle of the disputes and parliamentary 
tangles of the annual naval appropriation bill barely 12 
hours before his untimely taking away. His quiet persist- 
ence in giving personal attention to every detailed require- 
ment of the Navy, almost up to the very moment of his 
death, but characterizes the sterling qualities of this man 
who has given so much to his State and to the Nation. 

He was not willing to take his needed rest, for he felt 
that his duty was here in the House, and faithfully he re- 
mained at his post until death's hand was actually upon 
his shoulder beckoning him to come to that home of un- 
certainty of the future, where all of our troubles are left 
behind. 

Mr. Browning was always considerate of his colleagues, 
broad-minded and generous-hearted. He was respected 
by all who knew him. 

[34] 



Address of Mr. Britten, of Illinois 



When the war came, Mr. Speaker, no man in this Cham- 
ber gave more undivided support to the great conflict in 
which we were engaged than did Congressman Browning. 

The Committee on Naval Affairs has already felt the ab- 
sence of Mr. Browning, who gave to the meetings of that 
committee his undivided attention. He endeavored to 
familiarize himself with the naval code and with regula- 
tions and recommendations of the Navy Department, that 
the service he rendered in the consideration both of rec- 
ommendations and of bills referred to the committee 
might reflect the ripe fruits of a long tenure of activity 
in the Nation's Capitol, where that experience gave full 
knowledge of the subject involved. 

Some of us are prone at times to be lax in the discharge 
of our committee duties, feeling that others will bear the 
burden, and that personal attention is not therefore a mat- 
ter of mandatory importance. Congressman Browning 
never so felt nor acted. Others might be absent from the 
meetings of the committee; others might, for many rea- 
sons, be unacquainted or unfamiliar with its work and 
with the character and purpose of the bills referred to it 
for consideration, but Congressman Browning never. He 
was always in his seat and always vigilant and active, both 
in attention and in inquiry. 

His talents were not of the brilliant variety; they were 
solid, practical, substantial, and if it be true, as Macaulaj' 
says, that genius is but another name for a capacity for 
hard work and unremitting labor, then Congressman 
Browning was a genius. 

Bringing to bear upon the duties of the House the best 
faculties with which a Member is endowed is the highest 
possible service to himself and to the country. Measured 
by that standard. Congressman Browning was one of the 
most useful Members of this body. He was industrious, 
vigilant, painstaking, and conscientious. He loved his 



[35] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 

country and his State, appreciated the dignity and the 
duties of the high position which his people had conferred 
upon him, and reflected credit upon them and himself so 
long as he spoke for them and for the Nation. 

We lose much in his death, but those nearer and dearer 
lose more. I can simply say that the tenderness and solici- 
tude which he evidenced for his friends and loved ones 
were worthy of a son of God. May the peace and conso- 
lation of the Divine Master ever bless and comfort those 
who are left to mourn. 

Mr. Speaker, 1 ask unanimous consent to insert in the 
Record a copy of the funeral services held at the First 
Baptist Church in Camden, N. J., on Saturday, March 27, 
1920. 

The Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Lehlbach). Is there 
objection to the request of the gentleman? 

There was no objection. 

Funeral Services Over the Body of Hon. William J. Browning 
AT THE First Baptist Church of Camden, N. J., at 2 o'Clock 
IN the Afternoon, Saturday, March 27, 1920 

Prayer by the Rev. John \V. Lyell. 

The Rev. Mr. Lyell. I ask your attention to some selections 
from the Word of God: 

" God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 
Therefore, will we not fear, though the earth do change, and 
though the mountains be moved in the heart of the seas. Be still, 
and know that I am God: The Lord of hosts is with us; The God 
of Jacob is our refuge." 

"The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me 
to lie down in green pastures : He leadeth me beside the still 
waters. He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of 
righteousness for His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through 
the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou 
art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me." 

"For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man 

perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our 

light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far 

more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not 

[36] 



Address of Mr. Britten, of Illinois 



at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not 
seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things 
which are not seen are eternal." 

" For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were 
dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with 
hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this vv^e groan, earnestly 
desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven. 
If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we 
that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened; not for that 
we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might 
be swallowed up of life. Now, he that hath wrought us for the 
selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest 
of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that 
whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord, 
for we walk by faith — not by sight. We are confident, I say, and 
willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with 
the Lord. Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, 
we may be accepted of Him." 

" But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first 
fruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man 
came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, 
even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his 
own order: Christ the first fruits; afterwards they that are 
Christ's at his coming. The last enemy that shall be destroyed 
is death. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial; 
but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial 
is another. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown 
in corruption; it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dis- 
honor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised 
in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. 
There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And as 
we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the 
image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and 
blood can not inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corrup- 
tion inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery: We 
shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the 
twinkle of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, 
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be 
changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and 
this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible 
shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on 



[37] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 

immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is writ- 
ten: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy 
sting? grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; 
and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which 
giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 

"Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God; believe 
also in Me. In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were 
not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and 
receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. 
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give unto you; not as the 
world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, 
neither let it be afraid." 

May God add His blessing to the reading of His Word. 

At other times and in other places men will gather to make due 
recognition of the distinguished service that our brother has ren- 
dered in the affairs of city. State, and Nation. We meet to-day in 
the House of God, and have come, as all men must come to the 
House of God, leaving outside all external distinctions of rank 
and privilege. We are here because we realize our need of God 
and our dependence upon Him, and because there is no other 
source of hope or comfort or real consolation. 

The things that count in an hour like this are not so much what 
a man has gained or what he did, but what he was. Earthly 
glories are fleeting and transitory; character is the only thing that 
abides. When death comes it compels a new evaluation of the 
things of time and eternity in an hour like this. The teachings 
of God's Book have new significance. 

" Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and 
all needed things shall be added unto you." " Lay up your treas- 
ures in heaven, where moth and rust do not corrupt or thieves 
break through and steal." 

The deepest needs of the soul can only be met by the truth 
that Divine Love has revealed. The comfort men are vainly seek- 
ing in the work of Spiritism is openly offered by Him that brought 
life and immortality to light, and our hopes of a blessed immor- 
tality and a home in heaven are assured by Him whose victory 
over sin and death the church will soon celebrate with glad Easter 
exercises. 

It is fitting that we bring here this afternoon all that is mortal 
of our brother, to the place where he publicly confessed his faith 
[38] 



Address of Mr. Britten, of Illinois 



in Christ, and because here, as nowhere else, we can face death 
without the sense of defeat. It is here that we can say witli faith 
triumphant, " O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy 
victory? Thanks be unto God, who giveth us the victory through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord." 

This remarkable attendance of representative men from all 
walks in life is a wonderful tribute to the ability of our brother 
to make friends and the appreciation his many sterling qualities 
has compelled; but we are drawn here to-day not so much by 
reason of our associations in the great activities of life, but be- 
cause a friend and brother who has fought a good fight and 
kept the faith has fallen in the discharge of his duty, and we 
come impelled by friendship and affection to assure his sorrow- 
ing loved ones and friends of his youth and maturer years that 
we, too, loved him and share their sense of loss and that our 
hearts go out to them with a sympathy that words can not 
adequately express. 

Practically the whole of the life so recently ended was spent 
in this city, and much of it in the pitiless publicity of official 
life. Our brother passes to his reward with an unsullied name. 
The heritage of a spotless name is greater to be desired than much 
riches. Many traits of his Quaker ancestry persisted unto the 
end of his life; his avoidance of ostentation and display. He 
often appeared austere and reserved to those who did not know 
him well, but a seeming brusqueness of manner could not hide 
the bigness and warmth of our brother's heart. 

An aged farmer and friend of Daniel Webster stood by the 
open grave at Marshfield. He said: "The world is lonesome and 
Webster dead. There is only one heart in Marshfield to-day and 
that is sad." It is no exaggeration to say, " There is only one 
heart in Camden to-day and that is sad." 

Of the husband and father I will not presume to speak. That 
holy of holies is not lightly to be entered by one outside the inner 
circle. But as his pastor and his friend for more than thirty 
years I count it a privilege to speak a word of appreciation on 
behalf of his brothers and sisters of this church. 

Our Brother Browning was baptized as a young man into the 
fellowship of this church April 5, 1867, and has been a member 
of this church for nearly fifty-three years. I need not speak of 
the strength of those ties which have bound our hearts together 
as we have labored and toiled and as we have made sacrifices 



[39] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 

for the sake of the Kingdom of God in this place. I can say it 
earnestly, most sincerely — our brother loved this church, he was 
faithful in attendance upon its services when he was in the city, 
and he was interested in all that pertained to its welfare. 

I have received a beautiful letter from a brother pastor in the 
city of Washington, Dr. J. J. Mulr, who doubtless is known to 
some here to-day, saying how for many years he had appreciated 
the loyalty of our brother to the church, the denomination of 
which he was a member, and how often he had been present at 
the services there. 

Our brother was a member of the Bible school. He was a mem- 
ber of one of the classes of our school and he was treasurer of his 
class. He was not too big nor too busy to do this humble service 
for his Master and for the church, and I can say that the service 
that he rendered was with that same conspicuous fidelity that 
characterized the discharge of his public duties. 

He was one of the oldest members of this church, though we 
have a number who exceed him in the calendar years of their 
lives. 

We shall miss him. The sense of loss in our minds and hearts 
is very great. As a citizen of Camden for more than thirty years, 
perhaps I might venture to add just a word or two of my appre- 
ciation of him as a man and a citizen. As I think of William J. 
Browning and his life, as I have known it for more than thirty 
years, I would say that one of the outstanding characteristics of 
the man was his loyalty to his friends and the truth as he saw it. 
He was a man of very positive convictions. All men of much 
strength are men of conviction, and all men who have deep con- 
victions are likely to awaken some opposition somewhere, but 
everyone respects a man who has conviction, and a man like 
William J. Browning, who not only had convictions but had the 
courage of his convictions. As I have known his service in the 
years that are gone, I think of him as a friend of the weak and 
helpless. I think I never knew a man to go to William J. Brown- 
ing in trouble, in need, that he did not endeavor to serve, and I 
have reason to know that the men who served their country in 
1861 to 1865, who had any trouble about their pension matters 
and felt they needed a friend and a friend's advice in that mat- 
ter — I have reason to know that none of them ever went to him 
in vain, and there was no trouble too great for him to undertake 
if he could secure what was their right and just due. 

[40] 



Address of Mr. Britten, of Illinois 



He was very conscientious and faithful in the discharge of all 
his obligations, and no personal considerations could swerve him 
from what he felt to be the path of duty. 

William J. Browning gave his life in the service of his country 
just as surely as the men who to-day lie on Flanders field. He 
knew the risk that he ran in remaining in Washington in spite of 
the warnings of his doctor, but he did not hesitate to risk his 
life in the discharge of what he felt was his duty. And we, his 
fellow members of the Church of Christ, we, his fellow citizens 
in the goodly town of Camden, are here to say, " Well done," and 
lay our chaplets of love and appreciation on his casket. To have 
lived thus is to have lived well a life of service and helpfulness 
of others, the highest form of life, and our brother was vouch- 
safed a satisfaction rarely given to men, to reach the end of life 
and feel life's work was finished and it was well done. 

Our sister, Mrs. Browning, has furnished me a cherished clip- 
ping, which, she says, might have been written with her husband 
in mind, and contains an exhortation to which all should give 
heed. 

" FINISH THY WORK. 

" Finish thy work; the time is short; 
The sun is in the West; 
The night is coming down — 'till then 
Think not of rest. 

" Yes, finish thy work, then rest; 
'Till then rest never; 
The rest prepared for thee by God 
Is rest forever. 

*' Finish thj' work, then wipe thy brow; 
Ungird thee from thy toil; 
Take breath, and from each weary limb 
Shake off the soil. 

" Finish thy work; then go in peace; 
Life's battle fought and won; 
Hear from the throne the Master's voice: 
•Well done I Well done!' 

[41] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 

" Give thanks to Him who lield tliee up, 
In all thy path below; 
Who made thee faithful unto death 
And crowns thee now. 

" So be my passing! 
My task accomplished and the long day done, 
My wages taken, and in my heart 
Some late lark singing. 
Let me be gathered to the quiet West, 
The sundown splendid and serene." 

I count this a very great privilege. We have with us to-day 
two distinguished gentlemen who have been associated with Mr. 
Browning in his public life in Washington. I have very great 
pleasure in presenting the Hon. Mr. Padgett, who served with 
Mr. Browning in the arduous work on the Naval Committee. 

Mr. Padgett. Christian friends, nearly twenty years of associa- 
tion with Mr. Browning continued to grow and to ripen stronger 
and stronger into a closer and better and more intimate friend- 
ship. When I first came to Congress I knew him not as a Member 
of the House then but as the Chief Clerk of the House, in which 
capacity he served faithfully and well for many years. Upon the 
death of Mr. Loudenslager, whom I knew well, Mr. Browning 
succeeded him, not only as a Member of the House representing 
this district, but also succeeded him upon the Naval Affairs Com- 
mittee, and for nearly ten years we have been associated closely 
and intimately in the work of the Navy. 

Permit me to say that he was indeed and in truth a friend of 
the Navy. There was never any time that his faith in the Navy 
faltered or that his efforts failed. He was true to a deep-seated 
conviction that the Navy was one of the great and honored in- 
strumentalities and agencies of our Government, challenging the 
admiration and deserving of the esteem and love and affection 
of the American people, and he never lost sight of an opportunity 
to render every service and every assistance he could, not only 
for its maintenance but for its uplift and its stability. 

And to-day, gathered as we are here, I know of no greater 

tribute that I could speak of him than to say that at all times, 

under all circumstances, he was true and faithful and shirked 

not his duty nor evaded his obligations. It is not my purpose this 

[42] 



Address of Mr. Britten, of Illinois 



afternoon, friends, to attempt to rehearse the many things, the 
many activities of his public life, nor to analyze the many virtues 
of his life, and yet I must say that he was an honorable man. 
Associating and seeing each other from many angles and from 
ditferent sides and under conditions when we were cooperating 
together and when we were pulling for separate ideas and poli- 
cies and purposes according to our convictions of what may have 
been our duty under particular circumstances, we have an oppor- 
tunity to judge of the real merit and composition of a man, and 
I do not think that any man who was associated with Mr. Brown- 
ing came away without being convinced with a deep conviction 
that he was an honorable man. 

Again, my friends, he was an honest man. It has been said 
that an honest jnan is the noblest work of God. To all that it 
means, all that it carries with it, he is entitled. He was an honest 
man, not alone in the material sense of paying debts or dealing in 
the physical and material things, but he was honest in the con- 
ception and ideals of true manhood, the principles of character 
that constitute real manhood, honest in his purpose, honest in his 
convictions, honest in his affections, honest in his judgment and 
his conception of his duty and toward his fellows and his 
country. 

My friends, the pastor has referred to it — he was a man of 
convictions and courageous in those convictions. He was not 
wishy-washy. He had his convictions, he believed in them, and 
he had the courage and hardihood to maintain them and insist 
upon them. He was a man that, when you got close to him, had 
a warm, generous heart. 

I do not know where there was a closer association than be- 
tween Mr. Browning and myself, and some years ago it was my 
pleasure and privilege, which I have often thought of and reflected 
upon, to come with him over here. I attended service with him 
in this church, and I occupied the pew there indicated, with 
him and his beloved wife. I enjoyed the hospitality of his home. 
My friends, the tie that is broken between us touches my heart. 

Not only in the personal relationships of life, but he was honest 
and honorable in the discharge of his public duties and in meet- 
ing his patriotic obligations. What more can I say? For more 
than 20 years he met honorably, faithfully, intelligently, earnestly 
the duties and responsibilities that devolved upon him as repre- 
sentative duties, as official duties, in the Capitol of the Nation. 



[43] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 

Last Wednesday morning, early in the morning, as was his 
custom, he went into the Capitol building, where he had so long 
served faithfully and well, and while in that building he heard 
the low, soft call. He answered it. It was the Angel call. His 
body became quiet and his spirit went to his God. Lovingly and 
tenderly they brought him here to his honored State of New 
Jersey, and to his beloved Camden, where he was born, where he 
was reared and lived all these years, always retaining the respect 
and honor and confidence of his people. 

My friends, on an occasion like this 1 do not wish to speak of 
the darkness, but of the light; not of the night, but of the day; 
not of the sunset, but of the sunrise. We see before us these 
flowers. Beautiful they are, and fragrant; but they soon will wilt 
and wither and their fragrance will be lost in the air. We want 
something at this time more lasting and more substantial, and the 
thought comes to us of the occasion when, in other days, in the 
early morning of the first day of the week the women went to 
the open grave looking for a loved one, and the Angel said to 
them: "He is not here. He is risen." Oh, they are comforting 
words on an occasion like this, and as we stand by this casket 
we, too, say, " He is not here. He is risen " — risen not into the 
beauty of these flowers, for they soon will wilt and fade; not into 
the beauty of the golden-tinted sunset of the west, for the shadow 
of night will blot it out; but risen in the life, into the fullness and 
the sweetness of that life where opportunity for greater and better 
things will be as immeasurable and as illimitable as the universe 
of God, and whose duration will be commensurate with the 
eternity of God. 

Oh, my friends, the comfort is on an occasion like this, the 
life — the fullness, the sweetness, the beauty of the life of which 
the grave is only the portal, or the open door of the transition. 

My friends, they say that when we pass away we take nothing 
with us. It is not so. Mr. Browning had a wealth of character, 
a richness of soul, that moth and rust could not corrupt and 
thieves could not break through and steal — a wealth and a rich- 
ness that he could take with him when he met his God. 

Rev. Mr. Lyell. I present the Hon. Mr. Hutchinson, a Member 
of the House of Representatives from New Jersey, and associated 
with Mr. Browning. 



[44] 



Address of Mr. Britten, of Illinois 



Mr. Hutchinson. Christian friends, I have been requested to 
speak for the New Jersey delegation. Words are very hard to 
find to express what the New Jersey delegation thought of Mr. 
Browning. He has always been a safe adviser to follow and we 
have taken advantage of his judgment, and we have found him 
an earnest, true worker. He always considered a subject very 
carefully. After he made up his mind he always did what he 
thought was right, irrespective of what the consequences might be. 

I suppose, personally, I have been closer to Mr. Browning than 
most, for the last two or three years, because both of us have had 
loved ones at home afflicted with the same disease, and we have 
talked for hours. I know what a great care he had and what 
thoughts he gave to his loved ones at home, and how he wished 
them to get better. I know, of my own experience, that the New 
Jersey delegation, the district which he represented, the State of 
New Jersey, and the loved ones at home, will miss him. He was 
a faithful worker and his one desire was to do what was right for 
the most people. He was a great credit to your district and to 
the country. 

For a great while his health was so bad it seemed a real injury 
to ask him to do anything. Still, he was always ready to do 
what he could for his fellow men; and I certainly felt verj' sorry 
myself as I came back here. I was very much attached to Mr. 
Browning, and I know I shall miss him, as will the entire New 
Jersey delegation. 

Prayer by the Rev. Mr. Lyell: 

Again, O greatest Lord and Master, we lift our hearts and our 
voices to Thee. We need Thee. We realize that all our help 
must come from Thee, and we thank Thee for Thy love and 
the love that was manifest in Jesus, Thy son, to be our Savior. 
We thank Thee for His life of serving and sacrifice, for His death 
and for His resurrection. We thank Thee for the hope we have 
in Him, for the life that now is and for the life that is to come. 
We thank Thee for that hope, that faith, that takes away the fear 
of death, and that blessed assurance which Thou hast given us of 
the home eternal that Love has prepared. 

We pray Thy blessing as we meet and meditate this hour upon 
the blessings of life and death. We thank Thee for the promise, 
for the assurance of deliverance from the power of sin and death. 

[45] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 

We thank Thee for the blessed hope of resurrection and immortal 
life offered through Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Savior. 

We pray Thee to bless and comfort the hearts that are heavy 
and sad to-day because of the separation that has taken place. 
We thank Thee for the comfort Thou hast brought, of the hope 
of a soul sure and steadfast. 

We thank Thee for the great promise of Thy word that all 
things shall work together for good for those that love Thee, and 
out of experiences that are grievous for the present Thou wilt 
bring far more exceeding and eternal faith. 

Help us that we may be submissive to Thy Divine Will, realizing 
that not in anger but in love Thou dost so visit Thy children, and 
underneath is Thy everlasting love. 

We pray Thy blessing upon the family and the relatives and 
friends who have gathered from far and near. O Our Father, we 
pray our hearts may be comforted, our faith strengthened. May 
we give ourselves in consecration to Thee and Thy cause, and 
look forward with glorious hope, with faith and confidence to 
the things of life, and feel that that same power that raised up 
Christ from the dead will raise up all those who put their trust 
in Him. 

Bless those who have assembled here; bless those in distant 
places who, in thought, are turning toward here; sanctify to us 
all the lessons of life and death; go with us now as we shall go 
on the journey to the cemetery, and stand by us as we stand by 
the open grave. Help us to realize, as never before, that death is 
not the end of all, but that the power that raised up Christ will 
raise up this loved one also. 

Hear us in our prayer; forgive all that Thou hast seen amiss 
in us here, and guide us as we go on to the end of our days. May 
we hear Thee say, as we trust Thou hast said to our loved one, 
" Well done, thou good and faithful servant." 

For Jesus sake. Amen. 



[46] 



Address of Mr. Venable, of Mississippi 

Mr. Speaker: I did not have the pleasure of knowing Mr. 
Browning for as many years as some Members of the com- 
mittee or the House, but ever since I have been in Congress 
I have been more or less intimately thrown into contact 
with him, being upon the same committee, and had an op- 
portunity to observe what I believe to be the salient points 
of his character. We have all known men who, though 
blessed with mental strength, seemed to make small use 
of their talents and seemed to make small impression 
either upon the conditions or the men with whom they 
were brought in contact. And more often than not I be- 
lieve that we have found when such was the case that the 
failure of the strength of the man to manifest itself in re- 
sults was due to two important weaknesses: Either they 
were intellectual Hamlets and the native hue of results 
was sicklied over with the pale cast of thought and enter- 
prises of mighty moment were brought to naught because 
of lack of intellectual decisions as to what course of con- 
duct to follow, or else they failed because the decision 
once made, as a matter of intellect, they lacked the 
courage to put the resolution into action. 

Such was not the case with Mr. Browning. Regardless 
of what the question was, regardless of how close it might 
be, Mr. Browning forced his intellect to the consideration 
of the matter until there was intellectual conviction as to 
what was right or best, and then he had the moral quality, 
the moral courage, to put that conviction into action and 
to defend it. I believe that his success as a member of the 
committee and of the House of Representatives was due to 
the possession in a large degree of these qualities. 

But with it all he had the saving grace which made him, 
though a warrior, well beloved. Possibly in no assembly 
in the country is there manifested more the power of 
[47] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 

human kindness and of love than in this body. We are 
large in number, and there is represented here practically 
every type of man that lives as far as intellectual and emo- 
tional characteristics are concerned. 

We all have seen some man who excited our admiration. 
All the world loves a fighter. We admire their skill, we 
have a profound admiration for their intellectual abilities, 
and yet with it all these men fail to win the affection of 
those with whom they come in contact. Our admiration 
was the judgment of intellect and not of heart. We have 
seen others just as staunch warriors, just as powerful in 
the conflict, just as ready for the battle, and while these 
men excited our admiration for their ability, with our- 
selves the recipients of their blows, there followed no 
sense of personal bitterness or animosity. And while en- 
gaged in constant conflict in this forum of debate and 
battle, regardless of party lines or difference of opinion, 
they herein not only won the admiration but the love of 
their colleagues. 

There is an explanation for this, and I think it is 
that the men of the latter type added to their ability as 
warriors the endowment of having in addition a fund of 
human sympathy, of human love, which appeals to the 
like quality in others and brings a ready and generous 
response. 

And while they take positions and while they battle with 
what they conceive to be errors there is always absent 
from their method any sort of personal feeling or personal 
animosity. Mr. Browning had this quality to a large de- 
gree, so that, though he was intellectually vigorous, firm 
in decision, and ready at all times to defend his position, 
there went always with it a ready sympathy and love for 
his opponent as a man which made it impossible to do 
other than to like and love him. Men come and go. They 
play their brief parts upon the stage and pass into the 

[48] 



Address of Mr. Venable, of Mississippi 

wings. We say they die, and die they do in a sense, and 
yet I do not believe that any man dies or that any human 
life at all worth while is ever blotted from this world. 
We are a part and parcel of every man we have met and 
every thought we have thought. The personal contact and 
influence of men plays its part in molding and fashioning 
our lives and our characters. The influence of the life con- 
tinues to live though the spirit itself has passed. I believe 
this will be preeminently true of the case of Mr. Brown- 
ing. If he had done nothing else than to furnish us with a 
striking example of loj'alty to those things, principles, and 
institutions in which he believed, he would have furnished 
us something of exceeding great value. 

Mr. Speaker, I have prepared no formal address. I 
have simply undertaken in a simple way to bear tribute to 
my friend. 



[49] 



Address of Mr. Radcliffe, of New Jersey 

Mr. Speaker : It was not my good fortune to know Hon. 
William J. Browning, in whose memoi-y we are gathered 
here to-day, until I became a Member of this body, and 
therefore I can speak of him only as I knew him and of 
the opinion I formed of him during our close association 
in this brief period of time. 

I was first introduced to our revered friend on December 
4, 1918, in his office by my predecessor, Congressman Dow 
H. Drukker. My first impression was that I had met a 
man whose demeanor was quiet, whose nature was sym- 
pathetic, whose greatest desire was to help his fellow man, 
and whose character was of a firmness that commanded 
the highest respect. That impression deepened and 
broadened as other striking and admirable characteristics 
came to my attention, and I have often regretted the fact 
that I had not known Mr. Browning for a longer time to 
enjoy his company and the guiding influence of such a 
lovable man and earnest worker. With his many other 
remarkable traits there were also noticeable his great love 
for his fellow man and his charitable disposition toward 
his enemies, without whom no man lives who accomplishes 
anything of permanent value, such as Mr. Browning did. 

But one of Mr. Browning's most apparent qualities was 
his quiet, ever-persisting determination to " carry on " to a 
success whatever project he started. This continued with 
him to the last few days of his career. 

An incident indicative of this characteristic I well re- 
member. I was in the city of Camden upon the occasion 
of the triumphant return of the Blue and Gray Division 
from overseas, and at that time had the good fortune and 
honor to march by the Congressman's side. The day was 

[50] 



Address of Mr. Radcliffe, of New Jersey 

extremely hot, and Mr. Browning's health at that time was 
not of the best. Observing the terrible strain he was labor- 
ing under I advised him to drop out of the line of march at 
the grand stand instead of continuing to the end. Mr. 
Browning replied: "If these boys could suffer hardship 
and punishment over there in that veritable hell for me, 
the least I can do is to march with them here to the end." 

I also recall the day that he told me of his physician's 
advice to stay home and rest. He refused to act upon this 
advice because, as he stated, " I have a duty to perform, 
and my colleague. Congressman Butler, needs my help, 
and 1 won't desert him at such a time." Only too well do 
I recall that he stayed until the curtain was rung down on 
that committee's work, and the excitement that preceded 
the close was the means, to my mind, of hastening his 
death. 

Mr. Browning sacrificed much for the public service. 
He gave half of his life to his public duties and did his 
work faithfully and well. He was a model for his people 
to follow and a credit to the State that gave him birth. I 
shall always cherish the memory of this patriot who died 
in the service of his country, for I have no doubt that he 
would have been spared for a long time to come had he 
left his post of duty for the rest and quiet he so much 
needed. 

Just as I remember him at his desk on that December 
morning when I first met him, Mr. Browning remained 
throughout the rest of his days — always willing and ready 
to guide and help me over the rough places. And little, 
my brethren, did I think on the morning that he passed 
away that I was to be the last member of the New Jersey 
delegation to have the pleasure of listening to his pleasant 
and cheerful voice, as he talked with his old friend Prince, 
giving advice and counsel to him, and jokingly saying he 
was going home for a long rest. He said this was his last 

[51] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 

shave, and little did I realize at that time that was to be 
so, and when within 20 minutes after word was flashed to 
my office that Mr. Browning had passed away it was a 
shock I have not yet recovered from, because I really 
thought at that time he would be spared for some time to 
come. 

His life will be a lamp to guide me in the years to come. 
His character teaches me to spread the brotherly cement 
of kindness and good cheer along life's pathway. 

Good-bye, Brother Browning! May God, who watches 
over us, rest your soul and admit you to the unseen Temple 
where peace and joy abound for evermore. 



[52] 



Address of Mr. Eagan, of New Jersey 

Mr. Speaker : On four occasions prior to to-day in the 
little more than seven years that I have been a Member 
of this House I have participated in these sad yet beauti- 
ful exercises in commemoration of the life, character, and 
public service of a Representative from the State of New 
Jersey or a Senator from my State stricken down in his 
service in the Congress of the United States. To-day we 
have assembled here to pay our feeble tributes of love 
and respect to the character and public services of our late 
colleague, Hon. William J. Browning, for 16 years Clerk 
of this House and for almost 10 years the Representative 
of the first congressional district of New Jersey. Mr. 
Browning was not personally known to me until I became 
a Member of the House. That was in the Sixty-third Con- 
gress. He was the only Member of his party from the 
State of New Jersey who had been elected to the Sixty- 
third Congress. I knew of his long and distinguished serv- 
ice as Clerk of the House of Representatives; but I did not 
then know of his kindly and sympathetic nature. I hesi- 
tated to approach him for information so essential to a 
new Member of this great body. I overcame that feeling, 
however, introduced myself and asked him a number of 
questions, the answers to which were given so readily, so 
sympathetically, that 1 felt as if I had known him all my 
life. We were fast friends from that day to the hour of 
his death. 

It was my privilege on many occasions to sit with him 
late in the afternoon in the restaurant of the House, and I 
am afraid that } trespassed rather too freely upon his 
kindness. But I am glad I did so because I feel that I 
knew Bill Browning the better for those opportunities. 
[53] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 

He was a gentle, kindly, unassuming, intelligent, conscien- 
tious worker in this body, as he had been no doubt as 
Clerk of this House during the 16 years prior to his service 
as a Member, and I am sure he was as postmaster of his 
native city, and as a member of the city council, and be- 
fore that in the humble but very useful office of a member 
of the board of education of Camden. I reached the Capi- 
tol on the morning of his death a few moments after Mr, 
Browning's body had been removed from the barber shop. 
I was shocked, as was everybody who had been here the 
day before, and who had observed his work and listened 
to his words on the naval bill, to learn that our friend was 
no more. I could not help but feel, and I think everybody 
felt, that Congressman Browning, though the armistice 
had been signed for upward of a year and a half, died in 
the service of his country and made the supreme sacrifice 
just as completely as any boy who wore the uniform of 
our country and who made that sacrifice overseas and in 
time of war. His sorrowing widow and son have lost a 
devoted husband and father; his intimates a loyal and 
faithful friend; this House a courageous, competent, con- 
scientious Member; and his State and his country a public 
servant who has done his work well. 



[54] 



Address of Mr. Peters, of Maine 

Mr. Speaker: The kindly spirit and gentle nature of 
William Browning endeared him to all of his associates, 
but especially to the members of the Naval Affairs Com- 
mittee, whose closer and more intimate contact gave 
them a better knowledge and keener appreciation of his 
truly admirable qualities. 

My own real personal acquaintance with Mr. Browning 
began in the summer of 1918, when he and I sailed with 
11 other members of the Naval Committee to inspect our 
naval activities in Europe. That remarkable journey, 
which lasted two months, brought 13 men into unusually 
intimate association. We were together under varying 
conditions in many countries. We were subjected to 
dangers in war on land and sea. 

We visited and ate with thousands of our brave sailors 
and marines. We were received and entertained by 
kings and rulers. We traveled almost continuously and 
each day was filled with strenuous activity and labor 
under the vigorous leadership of our then chairman, the 
gentleman from Tennessee, Mr. Padgett. It was an ardu- 
ous undertaking for a man of the age and failing health 
of Mr. Browning, but while he sometimes had to walk 
a bit slower than the others he never complained. He 
never gave up or got discouraged, but went everywhere 
and took an interested and intelligent part in all investi- 
gations and activities, and he was alwaj's the same cour- 
teous, kindly, friendly, American gentleman — at times 
seemingly severe in demeanor, but gentle and kind at 
heart. 

Our friend was essentially a democratic American. 
His mind comprehended no difference between royalty 

[55] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 

and the freeborn American citizen, except that the latter 
was more fortunate. I well remember the occasion of 
a dinner given our committee by the King of Italy. It 
was in a villa occupied by him behind the Italian front. 
It was at night after a hard day's work by our committee. 
There was a considerable gathering of Italian officers 
with the King — an altogether brilliant military function. 
After dinner the King and all the guests arose and stood 
about the room talking in groups. The King spoke ex- 
cellent English. Mr. Browning, wearied with the day's 
exertions, was more interested in finding a seat than in 
talking with the Italian officers. I noticed that he was 
seated in a comfortable chair when one of our officers 
made the horrifying discovery that one of our party 
was seated while the King was on his feet. The local 
view of the situation being brought to the attention of 
Mr. Browning, he disclaimed any thought of rudeness 
and promptly stood — but only to avoid any api^earance 
of discourtesy by our party. Kings meant nothing to 
him except so far as they showed capacity as human 
beings. His interest in the welfare and progress of our 
own boys was constant and unceasing. 

Mr. Browning's long term of service in this House — 
25 years as Chief Clerk and Member — supplied him with 
an invaluable equipment of information and acquaint- 
ance. He was a faithful and valuable member of our 
committee. Indeed, his conscientious devotion to duty 
may have hastened his death. He died at his post. 

In all his relations with his fellow members and with 
all others who came before his committee he was con- 
siderate, reasonable, and just. While sometimes hid- 
ing a naturally friendly spirit with a cloak of gruff'ness, 
he was tender and kindly in his feelings. Always strongly 
patriotic in matters affecting the country, he was keenly 
alive to the interests of his constituents. He took just 

[56] 



Address of Mr. Peters, of Maine 



pride in the great shipbuilding and other important in- 
dustries in his district and was ever quick to aid and 
protect them. As a legislator he was conscientious, 
capable, and patriotic. As a man honest, faithful, and 
true. 

His spirit has passed into the unseen. He lived a long, 
useful, and happy life. We, his associates, deplore our 
loss and shall long cherish his memory and hope to 
profit by his fine example. 



[57] 



Address of Mr. Wason, of New Hampshire 

Mr. Speaker: When I first came to Congress, December, 
1915, one of the first men and Members I was introduced 
to was our deceased friend, William J. Browning, of Cam- 
den, N. J. From that day until the day of his death our 
friendship increased, and my admiration, love, and re- 
spect for him was boundless and sincere. I learned from 
others that he was a self-made man. Leaving school and 
engaging in the mercantile business at the age of 17 years, 
he pursued his chosen avocation for nearly a quarter of a 
century in Camden, N. J., and during that period he had 
served the people of his city as a member of the board of 
education for four years and a member of the city council 
for four years. Later he served the same people as post- 
master of Camden for 14 years. Then he served the 
House of Representatives here in Washington as Chief 
Clerk for 16 years. A vacancy occurred in the first con- 
gressional district of New Jersey by death of the Congress- 
man, and he was elected to fill the unexpired term, enter- 
ing the Sixty-second Congress December, 1911, and re- 
elected to each succeeding Congress, serving his con- 
stituency and the country well until his death. 

This record speaks eloquently of the confidence, the 
love, and affection of the people who knew Mr. Browning 
from childhood through his long and active life and hon- 
ored him most. A glance at his record of service to the 
people of his native city of Camden and the first congres- 
sional district of New Jersey honestly attracts the mind 
to the fact that there at his home, among his neighbors in 
Camden, where he was born and lived so many years, we 
find conclusive and overwhelming evidence of the esteem, 

[58] 



Address of Mr. Wason, of New Hampshire 

the love, the respect, and confidence that those people 
happily bestowed upon our late lamented colleague. 

When he was elected to Congress he possessed an ex- 
perience as a business man and a public ofTicial and the 
additional training of 16 years' service in close connec- 
tion with the House of Representatives that few new Mem- 
bers enjoy. He was early assigned to a position on the 
Committee on Naval Affairs, and continuously served 
thereon until his death. As a member of that committee 
he enjoyed the work; he was a firm believer in our Navy 
and strong in his convictions regarding its growth and 
efficiency. Industriously, studiously, and conscientiously 
he worked along those lines, and at the time of his death 
he was regarded as one of the safest and ablest Members 
of the House in regard to naval affairs. So earnest was 
he in his committee's work that he remained here in 
Washington after his physical strength began to show 
weakness, after he knew that he needed rest, after he 
knew that he needed medical treatment, contenting him- 
self by saying that when the great naval reconstruction 
bill had been reported and passed by the House of Repre- 
sentatives he would return home for a rest and treatment, 
in the hope of regaining his strength and health. He saw 
passed by the House the bill that he had worked so faith- 
fully with his associates on the committee to prepare, and 
then he relaxed, the tension of public business having 
momentarily passed, and the next morning he answered 
the call of his Maker, quickly and without a struggle. 

Nature had favored Mr. Browning. It gave him a 
strong, large body and mind, and in every undertaking 
that he engaged in during his threescore years and ten of 
life he brought to that undertaking his physical strength 
and mental strength and applied them with tireless 
energy. He was painstaking, calculating, and industrious 
in all of his undertakings. He was modest, firm in his 
convictions, and well grounded in his conclusions. In his 
[59] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 

treatment of others he was kind, considerate, thoughtful, 
and conscientious; in thought and action he was demo- 
cratic in its highest sense. I believe his greatest happiness, 
outside of the happiness of being with his family and 
relatives, whom he enjoyed, was in doing good and being 
of service and help to others. His life was an open book. 
His every day was for the benefit of his country, that he 
loved and loyally supported, and the closing moments of 
his life were consistent with the life he had lived upon 
this earth. He had lived hour by hour and day by day, 
doing the things that should be done at a particular time, 
and when the summons came in the midst of congres- 
sional and perplexing duties as a Member of this House 
he was ready, closed his eyes in sleep, as we close a book, 
and passed from this earth to the reward of a just, up- 
right, true, and noble man. 

To his family he leaves a precious legacy; to his country 
he leaves an example in public life that will be reflected 
in the years to come; to his friends, sweet memories of 
association will steal upon us to obliterate the pain and 
sorrow of his death. 

Life! We've been long together 
Through pleasant and through cloudy weather; 
'Tis hard to part when friends are dear; 
Perhaps 'twill cost a sigh, a tear; 

Then steal away, give little warning; 
Choose thine own time; 
Say not " Good night," but in some brighter clime 

Bid me " Good morning." 



[60] 



Address of Mr. Ackerman, of New Jersey 

Mr. Speaker and Members of the House : It is a strange 
coincidence that almost two years ago to a day — in fact, 
exactly two years ago as far as this Sunday is concerned — 
our late friend, whose sudden departure from this scene 
of activity we so deeply mourn, presided over this House 
when services of a character like this were being held in 
memory of Mr. Capstick, who then represented the district 
as my predecessor. 

At that time Mr. Browning said : 

I had never met Mr. Capstick until after his election to Congress, 
but in the first clasp of his hand I realized that I was greeting a 
man whose friendship I would value as long as I lived. 

That expression of his, a testimonial to his friend who 
had passed " over the river," covers far more eloquently 
than any words of mine can do how I felt when I first met 
Mr. Browning. 

He coming from the southern part of the State of New 
Jersey, and my home being in the northern end thereof, 
our paths very seldom crossed prior to our meeting in the 
House, but when we did meet his cordial, even, affable 
manner was always the same, and far too short was the 
time I had the pleasure of knowing him. He was a patri- 
arch in political service when I entered the arena, but 
during the chief time I was privileged to enjoy his society 
I found him to be a ready listener, a wise counselor, a true 
friend, and one who would go to great lengths to oblige a 
colleague. Once he became interested in his associate's 
future, he was ever willing to assist to the limit of his 
ability. 

The dean of our State delegation, he knew well more of 
the membership of the House in an intimate manner than 
[61] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 

probably any one else in the Sixty-sixth Congress. His 
long service as Clerk before he became an actual Member 
of Congress was a great asset. 

His long public service bears eloquent testimony of the 
high regard in which he was held, and, in fact, I have yet 
to hear of anyone with whom he came in contact that did 
not regard him as a friend. 

Fortunate, indeed, is one of whom it may be said " He 
had no enemies." And yet, Mr. Browning was a man of 
positive and fixed convictions. Because he lacked ene- 
mies does not imply that he had no fixed ideas or that he 
acquiesced in his interlocutor's opinion simply because of 
a kindly feeling for all mankind. He knew from personal 
experience how life's pathway might be made either rosy 
or thorny. Having experienced the many vicissitudes be- 
falling the ordinary mortal in the upward climb to posi- 
tion and influence, he generously bestowed his powerful 
and experienced aid ungrudgingly upon every occasion 
that was presented to him. He was devoted to his work, 
and his love for the Navy was unsurpassed. 

I did not have the rare pleasure of serving on any com- 
mittee with Mr. Browning, but as ranking member of the 
Naval Affairs Committee much hard and long-continued 
detail work fell to his lot. This was especially true during 
recent years, but he never shirked or shrank from it, be- 
cause of his belief that he could do his part in helping to 
assist in the great work of reconstruction. Although urged 
by his associates to take a vacation, he persistently re- 
fused, saying it was his duty to see the naval bill com- 
pleted, and when that was done he would take a rest. 
How prophetic were those words. The night before he 
passed away the bill was finished. 

To his earthly home he never was to return, but his foot- 
steps were even then quickly hastening to the home " not 
made with hands, eternal in the heavens," to which he had 

[62] 



Address of Mb. Ackerman, of New Jersey 

ever been aiming during the many and full years of his 
active career. He had almost reached the allotted span 
of three score and ten, and until shortly before being 
called so suddenly from his earthly labors he apparently 
was in the full vigor of life. We who knew and worked 
with him were encouraged and benefited by the associa- 
tion. The rank he attained and the standing he enjoyed 
among his colleagues is one of his richest legacies. His 
labors for the welfare of the country may well be emulated 
by all who wish to serve it well. His devotion to duty was 
an inspiration. 

When he was called to his reward he obeyed the sum- 
mons, " sustained and soothed by an unfaltering trust " in 
his Creator, and " wrapping the draperies of his couch 
about him " he laid down his earthly cares as one might 
welcome pleasant dreams. 



[63] 



Address of Mr. Hicks, of New York 

Mr. Speaker: Prompted not by a sense of duty but im- 
pelled by a sorrowing heart, I desire to join in this tribute 
to the memory of our deceased colleague and a fellow 
member of the Committee on Naval Affairs, William J. 
Browning. 

Usually men who enter Congress are unfamiliar with 
parliamentary practice or departmental activities and 
are compelled to spend years learning the ethics of pro- 
cedure and familiarizing themselves with the methods of 
government. Our late colleague was an exception to this 
rule, for his long term as Chief Clerk of the House, an 
office he held with credit to himself and satisfaction to 
those he served, had fully prepared him for entrance upon 
his duties as a Representative when the call came from 
the State he honored and loved. 

He entered Congress not as a pupil but as an instructor. 
From the first day he took his seat as a Member of this 
body he was an essential factor of the House, and no 
Member took a more active interest in the proceedings, 
possessed a more intelligent understanding of them, or 
gave to their attention more liberally of his time than did 
he. While not an eloquent orator, his direct and forceful 
presentation of any subject carried conviction and always 
commanded the respect and attention of the House. The 
training of his youth in the Quaker faith of his ancestors 
stamped itself upon all liis actions. To a strong, upright 
character there were added that positiveness of conviction 
and determination to stand unflinchingly for what he con- 
ceived to be right, that marks those who are the followers 
of George Fox and Elias Hicks. Slow to reach conclu- 
sions, he was equally slow to recede when a decision has 

[64] 



Addi^ss of Mr. Hicks, of New York 

once been made. A position on any public question, taken 
only after mature deliberation and willing conference 
with his colleagues, was maintained by him with a stead- 
fastness of purpose that elicited the admiration of his 
friends and commanded the respect of those who differed 
with him. Simple, direct, gentle in judgment, just in his 
dealings, independent in spirit and free from affectation, 
he sought to perform the highest service to his country, his 
district, and himself. 

Honored by his people by many positions of trust, both 
civic and political, in every field of his endeavors his 
steadfastness of purpose, his candor, and his honesty — 
free from duplicity, deceit, or any compromise with 
wrong — never wavered in the performance of duty. 

Though a loyal party man and devoted to the city of 
Camden, he did not devote his energies alone to the de- 
mands of his district or lend himself to narrow political 
issues that are ever present in a national assembly. 
Though ever mindful of his allegiance to party principles, 
he was animated by higher aims and conceived loftier 
ideals than mere partisanship advantage. He was a hard 
worker and accomplished much. To his office duties, his 
departmental work, and his attendance on the floor of 
Congress he gave unceasingly of his time and of his 
strength. Quick to respond to every call made upon him 
by a friend and ever anxious to help those who needed his 
assistance, he was without resentment toward those whose 
views did not coincide with his own. 

Loyalty toward those who came within the portals of 
his encircling friendship was an ever-dependable charac- 
teristic. It can be truly said of William J. Browning that : 

We just shake hands at meeting 

With many that come nigh; 
We nod the head in greeting 

To many that go by; 

47042—22 r, [65] 



Memorial Addresses : Representative iBROWNiNG 

But welcome through the gateway 

Our few old friends and true; 
Then hearts leap up and straightway 

There's open house for you, 
Old friends. 

There's open house for you. 

From my first acquaintance with our late friend, the in- 
timacy grew into a constant and abiding friendship, which 
on my part I felt and appreciated and which I am happy 
in the thought was reciprocated by him. The shock of his 
death sent a pang into the heart of each one who knew 
him, and those whose high privilege it was to be asso- 
ciated with him mourn his loss. 

He was a firm believer in the American Navy, constant 
in his devotion to the service, and ever mindful of its 
needs. By voice and by act in behalf of the Navy he ex- 
emplified the feeling of Theodore Roosevelt, who in writ- 
ing to one of his children in 1907 expressed this sentiment: 

I want still more to see our Navy maintained at the highest 
point of efficiency, for it is the real keeper of the peace. 

A true American, imbued with the loftiest spirit of pa- 
triotism, he loved his country and its institutions and had 
an abiding faith in the destiny of the American Republic. 
New Jersey and the Nation have lost in the death of Wil- 
liam J. Browning a noble son and a legislator whose serv- 
ices will always merit the highest praise. 



[66] 



Address of Mr. Darrow, of Pennsylvania 

Mr. Speaker : Words fail me in endeavoring to express 
my deep sorrow at the untimely death of our late col- 
league, Hon. William J. Browning. 

It was my pleasure to know Mr. Browning intimately 
during the five years I served with him in Congress, where 
our duties brought us in frequent and friendly contact. 
Especially as a fellow member of the Committee on Naval 
Affairs did I observe closely his faithful and efficient 
work. Mr. Browning was a regular attendant at the meet- 
ings of that committee, and his counsel and advice were 
eagerly sought by other members of the committee, and 
especially by its new members. There is no doubt that 
his close attention and devotion to public duties, par- 
ticularly during the period of his shattered health, has- 
tened his death. Truly it may be said Mr. Browning 
gave his life in the service of his country. 

As a life-time resident of Camden, N. J., and occupy- 
ing positions of trust and honor in his city as well as 
at the National Capital, Mr. Browning was well known 
in Philadelphia. Our city feels keenly his loss. He took 
an active interest in all matters affecting our welfare 
and advancement, and especially in the development of 
our port. 

Mr. Speaker, our late lamented colleague was respected, 
beloved, honored, and esteemed by every Member of this 
House. I wish to say there existed between us a very 
warm personal friendship and an association that will be 
to me always a fond memory. 

None knew him but to love him; 
None named him but to praise. 



[67] 



Address of Mr. McKinley, of Illinois 

Mr. Speaker : In December, 1905, I was first sworn in as 
a Member of Congress by our deceased friend, William J. 
Browning, who then was the Clerk of the House of Repre- 
sentatives. At that time our acquaintance started and 
later developed into an intimate friendship covering all 
the years I have been in Congress. Mr. Browning and I 
had a mutual friend in Congressman Harry Loudenslager, 
the former Representative of the Camden district, and up 
to the time of his death secretary to the national Repub- 
lican congressional committee. When I became connected 
with the committee in 1906 as treasurer, Mr. Browning 
had full charge of the committee headquarters and con- 
tinued as the efficient manager of this work during the 
campaigns until after Mr. Loudenslager's death, when he 
took Mr. Loudenslager's place as a member of the execu- 
tive committee. Mr. Browning, on account of his intelli- 
gence, ability, and willingness to do hard work, was a 
tower of strength in the congressional committee. He was 
a true and devoted friend and a stanch Republican. His 
sudden death leaves a vacancy which it will be hard to fill. 

The Speaker pro tempore. Pursuant to the resolution 
heretofore adopted and as a further tribute to the deceased 
the Chair declares the House now adjourned. 

Accordingly (at 2 o'clock and 30 minutes p. m.) the 
House adjourned to meet to-morrow, Monday, May 17, 
1920, at 12 o'clock noon. 



[68] 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE 



Wednesday, March 24, 1920. 

A message from the House of Representatives, by D. K. 
Hempstead, its enrolling clerk, announced to the Senate 
the intelligence of the death of Hon. William J. Brown- 
ing, late a Representative from the State of New Jersey, 
and transmitted resolutions of the House thereon. 

The President pro tempore. The Chair lays before the 
Senate resolutions from the House of Representatives, 
which will be read. 

The resolutions were read, as follows: 

In the House of Representatives of the United States, 

March 24, 1920. 

Resolved, That the House has heard with profound sorrow of 
the death of Hon. William J. Browning, a Representative from 
the State of New Jersey. 

Resolved, That a committee of 18 Members of the House, with 
such Memhers of the Senate as may be joined, be appointed to 
attend the funeraL 

Resolved, That the Sergeant at Arms of the House be authorized 
and directed to take such steps as may be necessary for carrying 
out the provisions of these resolutions, and that the necessary ex- 
penses in connection therewith be paid out of the contingent fund 
of the House. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect this House do now 
adjourn. 

Mr. Lodge. I offer the following resolutions, and ask 
that they be read. 

[69] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 

The resolutions (S. Res. 341) were read, considered by 
unanimous consent, and unanimously agreed to, as 
follows : 

Resolved, That tlie Senate has heard with profound sorrow the 
announcement of the death of Hon. William J. Browning, late a 
Representative from the State of New Jersey. 

Resolved, That a committee of six Senators be appointed by the 
presiding officer to join the committee appointed by the House of 
Representatives to talie order for the superintending of the funeral 
of Mr. Browning at Camden, N. J. 

Resolved, That tlie Secretary communicate a copy of these reso- 
lutions to the House of Representatives. 

The President pro tempore. Under the second resolu- 
tion the Chair appoints Mr. Frelinghuysen, Mr. Edge, Mr. 
Fernald, Mr. France, Mr. Harris, and Mr. Gay the com- 
mittee on the part of the Senate. 

Mr. Lodge. Mr. President, I move, as a further mark of 
respect to the memory of the deceased Representative, 
that the Senate do now adjourn. 

The motion was unanimously agreed to; and (at 4 
o'clock and 35 minutes p. m.) the Senate adjourned 
until to-morrow, Thursday, March 25, 1920, at 12 o'clock 
meridian. 

Tuesday, May 18, 1920. 
A message from the House of Representatives, by D. K. 
Hempstead, its enrolling clerk, transmitted to the Senate 
resolutions on the life, character, and public services of 
Hon. William J. Browning, late a Representative from the 
State of New Jersey. 

Wednesday, March 2, 1921. 
The Presiding Officer. The Chair lays before the Senate 
a communication from the House of Representatives, 
which will be read. 



[70] 



Proceedings in the Senate 



The Assistant Secretary read as follows : 

In the House of Representatives of the United States, 

May 16, 1920. 

Resolved, That the business of the House be now suspended, that 
an opportunity may be given for tributes to the memory of Hon. 
William J. Browning, late a Member of the House of Representa- 
tives from the State of New Jersey. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of 
the deceased, and in recognition of his eminent abilities as a dis- 
tinguished public servant, the House, at the conclusion of these 
memorial proceedings, shall stand adjourned. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the 
Senate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk be instructed to send a copy of these 
resolutions to the familj' of the deceased. 

Mr. Frelinghuysen. Mr. President, I offer the resolu- 
tions which I send to the desk, and ask unanimous consent 
for their adoption. 

The Presiding Officer. The resolutions will be read. 

The Assistant Secretary read the resolutions (S. Res. 
470), as follows: 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with deep sorrow of the 
death of Hon. William J. Browning, late a Representative from 
the State of New Jersey. 

Resolved, That the business of the Senate be now suspended in 
order that fitting tribute may be paid to his high character and 
distinguished public services. 

Resolved, That the Secretary communicate these resolutions to 
the House of Representatives and transmit a copy thereof to the 
family of the deceased. 



[71] 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



Address of Mr. Frelinghuysen, of New Jersey 

Mr. President: Nearly a year ago the irresistible hand of 
death brought to a sudden close the career of a distin- 
guished statesman, William J. Browning. 

In the fullness of years, at the zenith of a profitable life, 
with the harness on, he went to his reward. 

The late Representative from the first district was in 
every respect the architect of his own fortune and the 
source and inspiration of his whole fruitful career. 

When yet a lad, hardly out of the period of infancy, he 
suffered a handicap. He became an orphan, his father 
dying while yet in the early meridian of life. I mention 
this as a " handicap," yet I am not sure that I use the word 
wisely. It may be that this great loss, when the lad was 
still very young, was the child's gain. As he advanced 
along the pathway of life, even in those early years, he 
was thrown upon his own resources entirely, and thus 
developed those characteristics of industry and initiative 
which he might never have acquired had he been entirely 
dependent in boyhood upon a father's care and protection. 

This lack, in the case of young Browning, toughened 
the fiber of his being and produced in him certain quali- 
ties which made for success in after life. 

Fortunately, while the head of the household was re- 
moved, the mother remained, a woman of great strength 
of character, possessing a well-disciplined mind and actu- 
ated by the sterling principles of the Society of Friends, to 
which she belonged. She played a dual role, being father 
and mother in one, and aided materially in shaping the 
son's subsequent career. 

[73] 



Memorial Addresses: Representative Browning 

Educated at Friends Central High School, Philadelphia, 
working during recesses on his uncle's farm in New Jer- 
sey, he entered a mercantile house in the Quaker City as 
office boy, he being then about 15 years of age. Upon 
attaining his majority, he became a member of the firm. 

But the lure of public service seems to have fastened its 
hold upon him in early life in spite of his Quaker training. 
Early participating in the political movements of his day 
in his native city — Camden — he soon became a leader 
among the young men of his neighborhood. 

The first important post held by him was that of mem- 
ber of the city council. Then he was made a member of 
the board of education, and became chairman of the same, 
performing, with satisfaction to the community, the duties 
of that responsible post. In due time, under the Harrison 
administration, he was made postmaster at Camden, and 
here, too, he served the public, and the Government as 
well, with full credit and acceptability. 

His entrance into the domain of national affairs took 
place in December, 1895, when he was chosen Chief Clerk 
of the House of Representatives. This station he filled for 
16 years. 

He performed the duties of that office with a degree of 
efficiency never surpassed, and in so doing won the unani- 
mous friendship of practically every Member of that body. 

Upon the death of his friend and immediate Representa- 
tive, Congressman Loudenslager, August 12, 1911, Brown- 
ing was chosen a Member of the Sixty-second Congress. 
In due course he was reelected to the Sixty-third, Sixty- 
fourth, Sixty-fifth, and Sixty-sixth Congresses. In 1912, 
during the Democratic upheaval, resulting from the split 
in his own party, Browning was the only Republican who 
carried a congressional district in New Jersey, though in 
the Sixty-seventh Congress but a single Democrat will , 
represent the State. 

[74] 



Address of Mr. Frelinghuysen, of New Jersey 

In the House Browning's service was preeminently valu- 
able by reason of his long identification with that body as 
Chief Clerk and Member. Quiet and rather conservative, 
he was nevertheless indefatigable in his attendance upon 
the sessions of Congress and of the committees upon which 
he served. He had a wonderful propensity for detail and 
for the minutiae of legislation, having evei*ything at his 
fingers' ends. 

Coming to the Senate four years ago, entirely unfamiliar 
with the methods of Federal legislation at the outset, I 
found Congressman Browning helpful at all times, ready 
with advice and suggestion in the work of parliamentary 
procedure. 

He was a safe and able representative of the material 
interests of the important district which honored him with 
a seat in Congress, and his death was a great loss to his 
party, his State, and the Nation which he so honorably 
served. 



[75] 



Address of Mr. Edge, of New Jersey 

Mr. President: I simply want to add a word in ti'ibute 
to the memory of the late Congressman Browning. It 
was typical of his conscientious service that he passed 
away, as it were, in the saddle, actually in the Capitol 
itself. 

It was my good fortune to be very intimately acquainted 
with Congressman Browning. I lived for many years in 
the adjoining county. His earnest work in public life was 
always an inspiration to me, and I have followed his career 
with great interest and great benefit. I consider that 
Congressman Browning represented a tj'pe of public man 
who considered public service perhaps somewhat different 
from the accepted scope of the responsibilities of the day. 
He was one of those men who appreciated the importance 
of the little things. He looked upon every case presented 
to him by constituents, whether it was some small pension 
matter, some officer of the Government who perhaps had 
made an error, or some difficulties in connection with the 
service of the soldiers in the late war, war insurance, or 
other detail matters — he looked upon any of those cases 
referred to his office as in themselves individual responsi- 
bilities, big matters, because they were big matters to who- 
ever presented the particular applications. His work was 
one of great detail, and to-day I think the average Member 
of Congress, perhaps pardonably so, makes an effort to get 
away from detail. 

Mr. Browning, as well, was a member of a very important 
committee, the Committee on Naval Affairs, and served on 
that committee from the commencement of his services in 
the House until the time of his passing away. I know from 
personal contact with him that he was deeply interested in 

[76] 



Address of Mr. Edge, of New Jersey 

the development of the Navy of the United States, worked 
zealously as a member of the committee; and residing, as 
he did, in the State of New Jersey, right on the Delaware 
River, near the navy yard — and even when Congress was 
not in session he was continually actively engaged in the 
development of that river and yard. 

New Jersey, in losing Congressman Browning, lost an 
efficient, conscientious, representative public servant. 
New Jersey mourns his loss, because they respected him. 
The first congressional district mourns his loss, because 
they loved him. 

Mr. President, in performing this sad duty, 1 am glad to 
have the opportunity of paying this tribute to the memory 
of so conscientious a public servant. 



^ 



[77] 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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